Relatives of the 48 Stardust victims gathered in the Garden of Remembrance on Thursday after the final pen portrait was delivered.
The devastated families said reading the tributes about those who died meant their loved ones were no longer just a number and told the story of who they were and could have been.
The last pen portrait was read out during the Stardust inquest which is being held at the Dublin District Coroner’s Court in the Pillar Room of the Rotunda Hospital. Following the last tribute, the inquest was adjourned until Tuesday.
READ MORE: Woman whose mother died in Stardust fire tragedy feels like 'child trapped' in woman's body
Afterward, families of the victims made the short walk to the Garden of Remembrance where the names of each person who lost their life were read out followed by a 48-second silence to honour the 48 who died after a fire swept through the Artane nightclub in the early hours of February 14, 1981.
Following prayers by a priest, the families listened to “You’ll Never Walk Alone” with many tearful relatives joining in. They then played “They Never Came Home”, a song penned by Christy Moore about the tragedy.
Veteran broadcaster Charlie Bird who was visibly emotional also attended the memorial along with his wife Claire Mould.
It comes as Siobhan Dunne, who lost her 18-year-old brother Liam in the blaze, revealed reading and listening to the pen portraits has helped with the healing process and said it was the first time in 42 years that families feel like they have been listened to.
The Dublin woman recalled how she was also supposed to attend the disco with her future husband Tony but he was sick so they skipped it.
Siobhan told The Irish Mirror: “The pen portraits kind of stopped the children being numbered. My brother was victim number 48, his actual name was Liam Martin Dunne.
“He was 18 years old, we buried him a month to the day of the Stardust … I’d say it has done a bit of healing because it’s the first time in 42 years, we’ve been listened to. It’s taken its toll.”
Siobhan, who delivered her brother’s pen portrait, said: “It was very hard to put together … I suppose I’m going to the grave this weekend and I think for the first time in 42 years, I won’t feel guilty because we’ve actually come this far.
“If there is a car crash it’s investigated about how these people died, this was never investigated properly.
“These were children, so yeah the guilt carried us and that is what gave us the fight for 42 years to get justice and answers … It's a very hard time for families, there have been memories which have been buried for years and years.
“There is an old saying when you speak their name they’re never dead.”
Antoinette Keegan, who lost her two sisters Mary and Martina in the fire, said the pen portraits were “important for the families to be able to express who their loved ones were and what they wanted in life and what they achieved.”
She said the tributes provide “a real person’s image instead of 42 years being bagged and tagged with a number.”
Meanwhile, Allison Forrester, who delivered a pen portrait for her uncle John Stout yesterday, said she wanted to ensure she gave “a voice” to the victim and said the inquest has given families hope.
She explained: “I thought I was okay to do the pen portrait until I got up there and his name was mentioned… it just got harder but it was a relief at the end once I portrayed him in the way I needed to portray him as a person - that’s all I wanted.”
Speaking about the inquest, she said: “There is hope there. We’re praying and hoping … It seems different this time around.”
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