State ceremony to be held in honour of Stardust victims

A State remembrance ceremony in honour of the 48 victims of the Stardust disaster will take place next month.

The event is scheduled for Sunday 23 June and the exact arrangements are being finalised in consultation with families.

The location of the ceremony is yet to be confirmed, but it is thought the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin will likely be the venue.

In a statement, Taoiseach Simon Harris said he had committed to holding a ceremony when he met families of the victims last month.

He said: “This will be a moment to remember those who lost their lives, but I also hope it will be a moment for those injured, those who fought to save lives and those who fought for decades to have the 48 victims and their good names fully vindicated.”

Campaigners have welcomed the announcement.

Antoinette Keegan, who survived the fire, but whose two sisters Mary and Martina died in the blaze, said it was very significant.

She said it will be the first time the State will host such a ceremony, adding that the commemorations in the past have all been organised by the families themselves.

Ms Keegan said it was important the State recognises the scale of the tragedy.

In February 1981, 48 people were killed when a fire ripped through the Artane nightclub.

Last April, an inquest jury ruled that they were unlawfully killed.

The year-long proceedings were held after a long and sustained campaign by relatives of the victims.

The jury also found that the fire started in the hot press in the main bar due to an electrical fault.

Last month, the Taoiseach apologised in the Dáil for how the relatives were treated in the decades since the disaster and said the State had failed them.

In a statement today, Mr Harris said he will lead the Government in the official June event and said he hopes it, along with the official State apology, “will show 2024 to be the year when Ireland put right our duty to all involved in Stardust”.