THE sister of a Twinbrook man who died in the Stardust fire in Dublin on Valentine’s Day 1981 has said that she wants answers as to what caused the fire, as concern grows that the inquest may have to sit without a jury.
The inquest into the blaze which killed 48 people is set to be the longest in the history of the Irish state as it held its nineth pre-inquest hearing last week. During the hearing, the court heard how the issue of paying jurors may affect the jury selection.
In the South, inquest juries are not paid for their loss of earnings, unlike criminal cases and as the inquest is set to last almost a year, this could impact on jury selection.
Speaking to the Andersonstown News, Laura Millar, whose brother Jim Millar was killed in the blaze alongside his friend Bobby Hillock, who was also from Twinbrook, said that she only became aware of the inquest when she was contacted by the Garda two years ago.
“I was shocked. I thought that when my mum and dad had dealt with it that the inquest had taken place.
“This was the biggest fire in the history of the Republic and the biggest loss of life. I want to know how my brother actually died. Everybody was told that their relatives died in a fire but we have never got proper answers to how the fire started or what led to all those deaths.
“Jim’s death had a desperate impact on our family. My dad went to pieces and my younger brother who passed away last year, was 11 at the time. Before Jim left for Dublin, the two of them had been fighting and said I wish you were dead. That was the last words he ever said to him and it stuck with him until he died.
“My dad blamed himself too because he wanted Jim to get out of Twinbrook and away from the trouble. He was happy that he was away to Dublin to do something. When he was in Dublin he had settled with his fiancé and was going to get married. Dad thought that by sending him to Dublin that he would save his life.
“It is absolutely desperate. As families we just want justice. We want a jury to sit on this case but it now looks unlikely.”
Solicitor Darragh Mackin of Phoenix Law, who is representing the families said: “It is deeply disturbing that on the cusp of the inquest commencing, it transpires that the Department of Justice did not provide any funding for those jury members who will be deciding this case.
"It is no secret that this is the biggest Inquest ever to be held on this Island. It is therefore wholly ridiculous to suggest that jurors would be expected to give up almost a year of their lives, all at their own expense. It is difficult for the families not to see this recent development as a further tactic at delaying the progress of this inquest.”
Investigations into the fire showed that a number of escape routes from the dance hall were blocked as emergency doors were locked by chains.
There have also been concerns about politicians and the media being allowed to walk through the site hours after the blaze.
Despite findings of safety breaches, there were no prosecutions over the incident.
An initial finding of probable arson meant that the relatives of the dead and injured were unable to sue the club owners and operators for alleged negligence.
