Vigil held in Dublin to remember Stardust victims

By Gráinne Ní Aodha, Press Association

A vigil has been held in Dublin in memory of the victims of the Stardust nightclub tragedy.

The 45th commemoration took place at the site of the Stardust nightclub in Artane on Saturday.

Wreaths were laid by members of the Dublin Fire Brigade, An Garda Síochána, the National Ambulance Service and the Irish army veterans.

Claire Bird, the wife of the late broadcaster and supporter of the Stardust families Charlie Bird, also laid a wreath.

Dublin Fire Brigade sirens were heard before the firefighters’ pipe band played The Dawning Of The Day and Amazing Grace.

A 48-second silence was held during the ceremony, before a minute’s silence was held at the end.

Forty-eight people were killed when the blaze ripped through the Dublin nightclub on Valentine’s Day in 1981.

After a more than 40-year campaign for justice, an inquest in 2024 found that the 48 victims had been unlawfully killed.

A majority decision from the inquest jury found the blaze was caused by an electrical fault in the hot press of the bar.

A review into the deaths is being “actively pursued” by An Garda Síochána’s Serious Crime Review Team in the wake of the inquest verdict of unlawful killing.

This week, the Government announced that survivors of the Stardust fire would be eligible for payments of €20,000, under a €16.4 million scheme which the justice minister Jim O’Callaghan said “recognises the delays in providing truth and justice”.

A €24 million redress scheme for the families of those victims was completed in August.

Gardaí said its review team “continues to actively engage” with the Stardust families and that their thoughts were with the families of the victims and the survivors of the Stardust tragedy.