{"id":9862,"date":"2019-09-26T10:36:54","date_gmt":"2019-09-26T14:36:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=9862"},"modified":"2019-09-28T11:38:37","modified_gmt":"2019-09-28T15:38:37","slug":"stardust-families-win-new-inquest-after-30-year-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=9862","title":{"rendered":"Stardust Families Win New Inquest After 30 Year Campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Survivors and relatives of the victims have been campaigning for decades (PA)
<\/figcaption><\/figure>The Stardust Truth and Justice Campaign has won a new inquest after more than 30 years of campaigning.<\/p>\n

The group \u2013 comprised of survivors, the families of those who died and many from the north Dublin areas of Coolock, Artane, Ballybough and beyond who remember the Stardust \u2013 have carried on the work of John Keegan, who lost his daughters Mary and Martina in the fire.<\/p>\n

Antoinette Keegan, Mr Keegan\u2019s daughter who survived the fire but spent many weeks in hospital, said news that a new inquest has been ordered is yet to sink it.<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cWe\u2019re kind of in shock because we\u2019ve had so many let downs before.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the 38 years, we have campaigned, my father started the Stardust Victim\u2019s group in 1985 and he fought till his death bed for justice for the living and the dead.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think today is a victory for the dead, the 48 that perished, they have helped us and been guiding us, they have walked every step that we walked, they\u2019ve helped us get where we are today.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy son is 27 now, his life, his entire life has been the Stardust, I\u2019d be dropping him to training on the phone about Stardust, taking him to school talking about the Stardust, having meetings in the house, it\u2019s been his whole life.<\/p>\n

\u201cA few weeks back I thought \u2018I\u2019m packing this in\u2019, and he said: \u2018No mam, you\u2019re nearly there, grandad would be so proud of you, don\u2019t stop now.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI just thought right, we\u2019re going to do this, we\u2019re going to keep fighting.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s positivity now, onwards and upwards.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eugene Kelly, whose brother Robert died in the fire, was emotional as he recounted his years of campaigning.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe shouldn\u2019t even be talking to you today, we shouldn\u2019t even be here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a joy, when I got the call I didn\u2019t know what to say, I don\u2019t know where I am even now, I didn\u2019t sleep a wink last night.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe truth will come out in the end, the truth has always been there.<\/p>\n

\u201cI often think about those poor firemen who were there, who didn\u2019t get a mention over the years, I know some of them left their jobs after the fire, they must\u2019ve experienced hell, we have to thank them for the work that they done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Selina McDermott, whose two brothers William, 22, and George, 19, died along with their 16-year-old sister Marcella, said the experience has been incredibly emotional.<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cThe phone hasn\u2019t stopped ringing, everyone is ecstatic, I can\u2019t believe this day has actually come, I\u2019m still shaking.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we told my mother who lost her children, she got very upset, it\u2019s been a roller-coaster of emotions, we just cannot thank the public enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cForty-eight young kids died, it destroyed an awful lot of families, it was a ripple effect through the northside of Dublin.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were always told the state did not want this reopened but we stayed strong and we\u2019re still strong and we still need everyone\u2019s support.\u201d<\/p>\n

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