A court has vindicated the relatives of young people killed in a club fire, 43 years after Ireland’s worst tragedy.
More than four decades after Ireland’s deadliest nightclub fire, a Dublin court on Thursday (April 18) vindicated the families of the victims who fought a long legal battle to prove that their own people were not to blame for the tragedy that claimed life. in 48 young people.
Jurors ruled that malfunctions inside the Stardust club, north of the Irish capital, caused the fire that killed 48 youths aged between 16 and 27, definitively rejecting the case of a criminal act involving one of them.
On February 14, 1981, 42 people died inside the club after inhaling fumes while another six succumbed to their injuries a short time later.
The court concluded that the fire was caused by a fault in the electrical system, while the safety exits were chained shut or obstructed to get there. Thus, many of the victims were trapped inside.
Half of the dead were under the age of 18
The tragedy shocked Ireland. Another 200 people were injured and 800 managed to run out of the club in panic to save themselves. Half of the dead were under the age of 18.
Relatives of the victims who had gathered in court applauded the decision. Through a committee they set up, they have relentlessly called for decades for a new investigation into the causes of the tragedy, rejecting the conclusion of a “probable” arson attack by one of the young revelers. Finally, a new investigation was launched in April 2023 and over three months more than 370 witnesses testified.
The tragedy “was one of the most painful moments in our history,” Prime Minister Simon Harris said in a statement. “For four decades, the families of the victims have borne the weight of this tragedy with unparalleled strength and dignity. The government will consider the jury’s decision and recommendations in their entirety,” he added.
Many victims’ relatives said as they left court that they were waiting for an official apology from the Irish state for taking so long to deliver the verdict.
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