Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris apologizes to families for ‘living nightmare’ following Stardust nightclub fire

The Irish Prime Minister apologized on behalf of the State for the Stardust nightclub fire in 1981, in which 48 people died.

A decades-long fight for justice culminated last week with an investigation that concluded they had all been illegally killed in the Dublin tragedy.

Taoiseach Simon Harris said the state had failed families when they “needed us most”, and politicians clapped in parliament to recognize family members in the public gallery.

“I know you were forced to endure a nightmare that began when a devastating fire took your loved ones from you,” Harris said.

“I deeply regret that they were forced to fight for so long that they went to their graves without knowing the truth,” he added.

“Today we say formally and unequivocally: we are sorry.

“We failed you when you needed us most, from the beginning we should have supported you, but instead we forced you to face us.”

Harris said she hoped the outcome of the investigation and Tuesday’s apology could help “put an end to the neglect of 43 years of waiting and fighting for the only thing you ever wanted: the truth.”

The Taoiseach also He met with more than 70 people affected by the fire. on Saturday to apologize.

The inquest’s failure came after a previous finding, issued in 1982, said the fire was probably the result of arson, something the families never accepted.

That ruling was overturned in 2009, prompting the latest investigation.

The fire occurred in the early hours of Valentine’s Day, when the Stardust nightclub, in Artane, north of Dublin, was packed with 800 people. More than 200 were injured.

The fire started due to an electrical fault in a ventilation closet, the jury ruled.

In the main ballroom, foam on the seats, the height of an alcove ceiling and carpet tiles on the walls contributed to the spread of the fire, jurors found.

‘This was the State asking for forgiveness’

“I never thought I would see this day,” said Antoinette Keegan, speaking as she so often does, on behalf of all the families of the 48 Stardust victims.

In fact, make it 49, because during the long-awaited state apology, the Taoiseach, (Irish Prime Minister) Simon Harris, remembered the fetus of 17-year-old Caroline Carey, who was pregnant when she died in Ireland’s worst fire. .

That was at the request of the families, and was a touch that emphasized the comprehensive and sincere apology offered by Ireland’s new prime minister.

It was 43 years in the making, but only five days since an investigation found all the victims had been illegally killed.

Another emotional day for the many survivors and families who gathered at Leinster House to hear the Irish State finally confess its failings.

The speech was well received. Harris, wearing a Justice for 48 lapel badge, was effusive in both his praise for the families’ strength and resilience and his condemnation of the Irish State’s hostile actions “against” them.

He touched on many key points that families wanted to hear, emphasizing “the salt that authorities poured into their terrible wounds” and promising action on the grand jury’s safety inspection recommendations and on future commemorations of the Stardust tragedy.

This was Ireland – as a state, as a government, as a nation – finally looking Stardust’s victims square in the eyes and begging for forgiveness.

Issues such as the possibility of a further criminal investigation or a new redress plan are left for another day. For Antoinette and the other survivors, the day they never thought would come has yet to be fully digested.

Read more:
How Stardust became etched into the Irish consciousness

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said today that the “big lie” that the fire had been arson “tainted” and “criminalized the victims and survivors”.

“It was a lie that devastated the families and further traumatized the survivors,” he said.

“To this day, those families and survivors still wonder who created that lie? Who made it up, who spread it and why? What was their motive? And who were they protecting?”

“Forty-three years have passed and they still don’t have the answers to those questions.”

Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris apologizes to families for ‘living nightmare’ following Stardust nightclub fire | World News

‘This was the State asking for forgiveness’

Leave a Reply Cancel reply