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Hundreds of people have joined survivors and families of the Stardust nightclub fire victims in a protest to demand a new inquest.<\/p>\nHundreds of people have joined survivors and families of the Stardust nightclub fire victims in a protest to demand a new inquest.<\/p>\n
A total of 48 young people died in the popular club in Artane, Dublin, on Valentine\u2019s Day 1981 in what is considered the worst fire disaster in the history of the state.<\/p>\n
About 48,000 signatures were collected by the Justice for Stardust campaign group, who travelled all over the country to publicize their case.<\/p>\n
Families say they have new evidence, uncovered through freedom of information requests and previously unheard witness testimony, to warrant a new inquest, and have often claimed there was a cover-up by the government at the time.<\/p>\n
On the march, public representatives from Sinn F\u00e9in, Solidarity and People Before Profit, as well as folk singer Christy Moore, walked with the families from Westland Row to the Attorney General\u2019s office in Dublin to deliver the signatures.<\/p>\n
Moore, who wrote campaign song They Never Came Home, said he was happy to support the families in their campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am hopeful. This has been going on far too long, it\u2019s time these families were given the truth, they need some peace of mind,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Antoinette Keegan, whose sisters Mary, 19, and Martina, 16, were killed in the fire, made an impassioned speech on the steps of the Attorney General\u2019s office, joined by her 82-year-old mother Christine.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the aftermath of the fire we trusted the state,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe remain to this day, dismissed and fobbed off, we have been systematically abused for 37 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were left like lambs to the slaughter, but we never gave up, and we never will until we get truth and justice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Officials originally ruled that the cause of the fire was arson, a theory that was never accepted by the families.<\/p>\n
It was later ruled out following a fresh inquiry in 2009.<\/p>\n
Eugene Kelly, whose brother Robert, 17, died in the tragedy, said lack of answers makes it impossible for families to move on.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe struggle, we\u2019re still carrying the scar. I hope this delivers some justice so we can move on with our lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are elderly women here, fighting for their kids, being pushed in a wheelchair in the rain here today, it\u2019s a disgrace.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy can\u2019t this government just put their hands up? Give us justice once and for all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Investigations showed a number of escape routes from the dance hall were blocked as emergency doors were locked with chains. Concerns have also been raised about the investigation of the scene, which allowed politicians and media to walk through the building days after the fire.<\/p>\n
On the steps of the Attorney General\u2019s office, a young relative read out the names of the 48 people who died, before Selina McDermott, who lost her two brothers and sister in the fire, read a message from the mothers who lost their children.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have learned that the Stardust is something we can never get over, but something that we carry,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe name Stardust is a cruel reminder of the horror that we have suffered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy then have we been left to carry such a sorrowful burden for so long without respite?\u201d<\/p>\n
Also in attendance were families involved in the Bloody Sunday Justice Campaign and the Carrickmines fire.<\/p>\n