Mothers of two young people killed in Ireland’s worst fire disaster have described their enduring grief and pain as they addressed a long-awaited inquest.
Forty-eight people died in the blaze at the Stardust Ballroom in Dublin in 1981. The fire in Artane in the north of the city broke out in the early hours of Valentine’s Day, 1981.
The new inquest, set to be the most extensive ever held in Ireland, began yesterday with coroner Dr Myra Cullinane reading out the names of all 48 victims. Families were then given the opportunity to speak about their loved ones.
Read more: Stardust families vow to 'do victims proud' as inquest opens
With the pen portraits delivered in alphabetic order, Gertrude Barrett, mother of Michael Barrett, was the first to address the 15 jury members. She was followed by Betty Bissett, the mother of 18-year-old Carol Bissett. Michael Barrett was a 17-year-old apprentice plumber who was working in the nightclub on the night of the fire as an assistant DJ.
“Up to and including February 13, 1981, we were a happy family unit, with four children, doing regular things, living a regular life,” Ms Barrett told the inquest. “Little did I know that Friday 13 would be the last day of life as we knew it and that our lives would change catastrophically forever. We woke up to trauma and were catapulted into unimaginable grief and sorrow.”
Ms Barrett recalled the four-day wait at the city morgue in Dublin for confirmation that her son’s body had been identified. She then spoke of the impact his death has had on the family.
“I will never get over losing Michael in such an appalling way, never,” she said. "I am forever haunted by the thoughts of his final moments, what were his last words, did he call out for help, how frightened was he, did he know he was going to die?
“Michael should have never had to leave this world the way he did and at such a young age too. If I stood here for a month, it still wouldn’t be long enough to describe or share the true impact of the Stardust fire, the experience of the four days in Store Street and the morgue, the funeral arrangements, the aftermath, the trauma, the void in our home and our lives, not to mention the 40-year fight for justice.
“I should not have to be standing here today. Like a tornado, the Stardust fire ripped through the core of our beings, wreaking havoc and utter devastation in its wake, leaving nothing untouched. Be it our home, our lives, our relationships, our education, our future, our outlook on life, our everything, nothing was ever the same again.”
Read more: Stardust tragedy: Jury to be selected for inquest as relatives of 48 victims to address the hearing
Ms Barrett said the family would never recover from the trauma of the Stardust fire and its consequences. “It has been absolutely crippling at times,” she said. “It leaves you feeling helpless, unable to cope, numb, disconnected.
“It has caused untold amount of stress and anxiety that takes its toll on your health, your wellbeing, your life. Although we have learned to live with it and it live with us, this is how it will be until we take our last breath. All of our life experiences, celebrations and events are marred and scarred, tainted and tarnished by his absence. We have to wonder what life might have been like had there been no Stardust fire.”
People inside Dublin District Coroner’s Court, which is sitting in the Rotunda hospital complex, rose to applaud Ms Barrett at the close of her address. The full inquest could last up to six months, with around 350 witnesses potentially due to give evidence.
The 1982 inquest lasted just five days and recorded the cause of the deaths in accordance with medical evidence, with no reference to the cause of the fire. After a long campaign by the victims’ families, in 2019 attorney general Seamus Woulfe directed that new inquests should take place.
Ahead of the first day of the inquest, families gathered together at the city’s Garden of Remembrance and then walked together to the coroner’s court. Speaking ahead of the hearing, Antoinette Keegan, whose two sisters, Mary and Martina, died in the tragedy, said finding out why loved ones died is the most important thing the inquest can provide.
“It’s very important – it’s a massive day for us, we’ve been waiting 42 years for this day to come, and finally we’re here,” she said.
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