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Tributes have been paid to the 48 victims of the Stardust nightclub fire on the 40th anniversary of the tragedy.<\/p>\nTributes have been paid to the 48 victims of the Stardust nightclub fire on the 40th anniversary of the tragedy.<\/p>\n
A fresh inquiry into the events at the Artane nightclub on Valentine\u2019s Day 1981 is to take place at Dublin Castle later this year, following years of campaigning by victims families.<\/p>\n
More than 800 people attended the disco that night and, despite two inquiries into the disaster, nobody has ever been held responsible.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, family members marked the anniversary with a vigil at the location where the Stardust once stood.<\/p>\n
Antoinette Keegan was among those who survived, but she lost her two sisters, Mary and Martina.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were pushed to the floor, and people were running over us,\u201d she told Newstalk.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll I could remember thinking was, \u2018We\u2019re never going to get out, please God, help us, help us\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we couldn\u2019t breathe, the smoke was that thick and it was going into your throat and stopping you from breathing.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then the heat and trying to hold your hand over your head because of the flames and stuff right on top of you.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was like being in hell, that\u2019s what it was like, being in hell and I\u2019ll never forget it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tributes flooded in on Sunday for the 48 people who lost their lives, and the 214 others who were injured.<\/p>\n
Sinn F\u00e9in president Mary Lou McDonald tweeted: \u201cForty years ago forty-eight young souls perished in the Stardust. The pain and hurt is felt to this day. Forty years later their families still wait for justice and truth #JFT48\u201d<\/p>\n
In a statement on Twitter, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organization (INMO) said: \u201c40 years today since the Stardust fire. Our thoughts are with the families of the victims.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany INMO members were on duty that night and well remember the terrible events. Pictured is the memorial to the victims in Beaumont Hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Dublin Fire Brigade said: \u201cOn this day in 1981, Ireland woke to the news of a devastating fire in a nightclub in Artane.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet us take time to remember the 48 who never came home, their families, the injured and all those who responded on the night.\u201d<\/p>\n