Irish PM confirms state apology for Stardust families – The Irish News

Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris said he “apologised unreservedly” to the families of the 48 people killed in a Dublin nightclub fire in 1981, after a more than 40-year campaign for justice.

Families whose loved ones died when the fire ripped through the Stardust nightclub met Mr Harris on Saturday when they were also told they would receive a formal apology from the state in the Irish parliament.

After the meeting at government buildings in Dublin, campaigners said they had been invited to the Dail on Tuesday for an official apology.

They said families will also receive individual written apologies.

The families, who spent about 90 minutes with the prime minister on Saturday, will work with government officials on drafting Tuesday’s apology.

It comes after an investigative jury returned a verdict on Thursday that the 48 victims were all unlawfully killed.

An earlier finding from 1982 indicated that the fire was deliberately set, a theory the families never accepted.

That ruling was overturned in 2009, leading to the latest investigations into the victims, who were aged between 16 and 27 and mainly from the surrounding north Dublin area.

A majority decision by the jury of seven women and five men ruled that the fire, which broke out in the early hours of Valentine’s Day 1981, was instead caused by an electrical fault in the bar’s hot press.

On Saturday morning, the families walked towards government buildings with a banner in memory of their relatives.

They were greeted by the Taoiseach, who addressed them in the courtyard and shook hands before heading to the official meeting.

In a statement, Mr Harris said: “It was a humbling and emotional encounter. I would like to thank everyone who attended for what they told me, both as a group and in individual conversations.

“Today more than 70 people came to the Taoiseach’s Department. However, I am well aware that the number affected by Stardust is many, many multiples of that.

“That includes the injured, the people working in Stardust, the frontline workers who fought to save lives that night. It includes survivors, the fire brigade, the ambulance crew, the gardai, the military, the taxi drivers and the communities across Ireland who have carried this tragedy with them for 43 years.

“I have listened carefully to everything the families have told me and as Prime Minister I have today apologized unreservedly to each and every family. I will do that on behalf of the State next Tuesday.”

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, campaigners said Mr Harris listened to the families and apologised.

Antoinette Keegan, whose sisters Mary and Martina died and who herself survived the fire, said the meeting went “very well”.

She said the names of the 48 victims would be read out in the Dail.

She added: “He has invited us all back to hear the public apology and it is very positive what he is doing – he is discussing every issue.”

Ms Keegan said the families had felt let down by the state.

“They were bagged and tagged for 43 years. This research has opened a new chapter for us. Now they have regained their identity, they have regained their good name.”

She said the families’ legal team would work with Mr Harris on the apology, adding: “If it is not right we will not accept it.”

Carol Barrett, whose 17-year-old brother Michael died in the fire, said the apology had to be “robust, meaningful and transparent”.

She said: “It has to be worth the paper it’s written on. It takes a lot of time and you shouldn’t rush it.”

Maurice McHugh, who lost his only child, 17-year-old Caroline, in the tragedy, welcomed the forthcoming apology but added: “It has to be sincere, it can’t just be regret, it has to be more than that.

“Forty-three years of history – he’s got an awful lot of work to do in three days.”

His wife Phyllis McHugh said she was “annoyed” that politicians had failed families in the past, adding: “They should have been there from day one.”

Among the dead were three of Brigid McDermott’s children: William, 22, George, 18, and Marcella, 16.

Speaking on Saturday after meeting Mr Harris, Ms McDermott, who is now 87, said: “I am proud of myself and everyone and all the mothers and fathers who have been through what we have been through.

“God bless and thank everyone, especially the audience – thank you all.”

When asked what the apology would mean to her, she said: “It’s just to hear that they’re sorry – but it’s a bit late for me.”

Darragh Mackin, the lawyer for the majority of the Stardust families, said: “We are hopeful that the apology will reflect the pain, the suffering, the trauma but most importantly the truth.”

He added: “Between now and Tuesday we have offered to engage directly with the Prime Minister about the content of the apology.

“We hope the Prime Minister has listened to the different families – we are confident he has.

“Families want it to be clear that they have been criminalized for forty years, and now the truth has been told.

“They want the state to apologize for the systematic abuse they have suffered and we hope this is included in the apology on Tuesday.”

He said it was “far too early” to talk about a recovery scheme.

The families also met Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald earlier in the day.

She said a full state apology to the Stardust families is “essential.”

Ms McDonald said: “For four decades they have faced obstacle after obstacle presented to them by the state.

“That is why it is vital that state apologies are made now and government failures are addressed, not just 43 years ago in the wake of this tragedy, but every day since.

“They had to fight until 2019 to get a second inquest and they had to keep fighting the state every day until the inquest started.

“They had to fight to make sure the resources were in place so that every family could participate in the investigation and have access to justice.”