Cork TD calls on Taoiseach to meet families of Whiddy Island disaster

Families of those who lost their lives in the Whiddy Island disaster are seeking fresh inquests into their deaths, and a Cork TD has urged Taoiseach Simon Harris to meet with them.

The call followed the State apology to the victims, survivors and families of the Stardust fire tragedy.

Forty-eight people were killed when the blaze ripped through the nightclub in Dublin in 1981.

After a more than 40-year campaign for justice, last week an inquest found that the 48 victims had been unlawfully killed.

Failed

On Tuesday, Taoiseach Simon Harris said the State failed the families of the Stardust tragedy when “you needed us the most”.

“I am deeply sorry you were made to fight for so long that they went to their graves never knowing the truth.

“Today we say formally and without any equivocation, we are sorry,” he said.

Speaking in the Dáil following the State apology to the victims, survivors and families of the Stardust fire tragedy, People Before Profit/Solidarity TD for Cork North Central Mick Barry said the State could not offer a sincere apology to the Stardust families while “denying justice” for the families of the Whiddy Island disaster.

Exploded

The maritime disaster occurred in the early hours of Sunday, January 8, 1979, when the oil tanker Betelgeuse caught fire and exploded, claiming 50 lives.

A further fatality occurred during the salvage operation with the loss of a Dutch diver.

“Taoiseach, I believe that if your apology is sincere, the State must stop denying justice for other families including those who have waited 45 years for justice for those who died at Whiddy.

“I understand that the families have requested a meeting with you and fresh inquests. You should agree to the former and grant the latter,” he said.