PRESIDENT Michael D Higgins has praised the families of those killed in the Stardust nightclub tragedy for their ”steadfastness in the pursuit of truth” over their deaths.
The president hosted 150 people in Áras an Uachtaráin yesterday afternoon to honour the memory of the 48 who died in the fire which broke out in the Dublin nightclub in the early hours of February 14, 1981.
President Higgins hosted the families of the victims of the Stardust nightclub tragedy“Today we remember with respect and with solemnity that awful night in February 1981 in which 48 people perished and so many were injured – young people, full of life and vitality and youthful exuberance,” he told those gathered.
Earlier this year, Mr Higgins led a state commemoration held in the Garden of Remembrance which paid tribute to the victims after an inquest into their deaths returned a verdict of “unlawful killing”.
Some 150 people were invited to attend the event at Áras an UachtaráinCommenting on the “long wait” for justice experienced by those families, Mr Higgins said the verdict was “one that is of the deepest importance for all those whose lives were so irreparably changed by that most appalling of days”.
“Those who, as relatives, had to carry a terrible grief, had their burden made worse by the questions that were left unanswered, or answered incorrectly, or insufficiently, or simply in a distorted way,” he said.
President Higgins met with the loved ones of the victims of the tragedy“I now welcome the fact that, however late, you have now finally received comprehensive and credible answers.
“The verdict is a vindication of the fight of the relatives on behalf of those they lost, a promise now fulfilled, but that had to be sustained over 43 long years, by relatives, friends and community of the 48 people, all aged between 16 and 27, who had their lives cut short on a night in which they had simply set out to spend in the company of their friends, dancing and enjoying music.”
He added: “While I know that the people of Ireland stand in solidarity with you in your loss, it is you yourselves and your families who have had to bear the grief of those tragic events, and, added to it, have had to bear the long wait for information and judgment on those tragic events that was and is your right.
The event followed a State Commemoration held in honour of the Stardust victims earlier this year“Indeed, it was not just the long wait for information that was unacceptable, but also the additional hurt that was caused in the past by the regular reference and speculation as to what were unfounded theories as to the cause of the fire.
“I readily understand the feeling felt by the relatives and victims gathered or represented here of being abandoned and failed by the system, of their being by the long delay and uncertainty denied justice for the loss of loved ones for so long. It was a let down by the State.”
Mr Higgins praised the determination of the families and their commitment to finding the truthMr Higgins went on to praise the families for never giving up on their campaign to uncover the truth of what happened at the nightclub on the night of the fire.
“The Inquests, when they came, were heard over 122 days of hearings,” he said.
“That they took place at all was due to the most relentless endurance and tenacity of their families’ endurance and commitment, never to give up and to force a conclusion as to establishment of fact.
“Their struggle for dignity and recognition, however late being accorded to the lives of each of those 48 young people, was and will be remembered as a powerful human achievement.”
The President thanked all those present for ensuring their loves ones' names 'will never be forgotten'“May I take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you present today.
“You have ensured that your loved ones and the suffering sourced in the Stardust tragedy itself will be remembered by generations to come. You have ensured that their names will never be forgotten, their young faces etched on our national shared memory.
“May I congratulate you for your steadfastness in pursuit of justice in honouring the memory of those for whom you cared so deeply.”
