Jury to be selected for Stardust tragedy inquest

Michael Bolton

An inquest into the Stardust fire which claimed the lives of 48 people at a disco in Artane on the north side of Dublin on February 14th, 1981 is underway.

Family members of those killed in the Stardust fire tragedy 42 years ago, have described today as "momentous" in their fight for justice.

It's taken the families of those that died over 42 years to secure an inquest after numerous calls were rejected by the State

3,000 people were summoned to Croke Park in Dublin for the jury selection process earlier today.It's expected the inquest, which is the largest in the State's history - will last around six months.

Lawyer for the majority of the victim's families, Darragh Macken, says the country is unlikely to ever see an inquest of this scale again,

"Well this is the largest ever inquest in the history of the state. It's likely that any estimation of this inquest will last at least six months. The reality of it is there hasn't been an investigation bigger than this kind in recent history.

It's difficult to see an inquest of this kind ever happening again. So the reality is, when six months may seem a long time, in comparison it's a really short time given how long these families have waited."

Spokesperson for the Families, Antoinette Keegan, says she never ever thought today would come.

"It's going to be a big day for us. We have waited 42 years for this day to come ao it's a big day for us."