AN IRISHMAN whose brother was among the 96 people killed in the Hillsborough disaster has said the inquests that begin this week are the “Holy Grail” for the victims’ families.
Steve Kelly, 61, said that for many families the whole purpose of their long-running campaign was to get the original verdicts of ‘accidental death’ re-examined.
“I believe these inquests have always been the Holy Grail for us,” he said. “Having the cause of death for our loved ones looked at again after 25 years is what we have always sought.”
Fresh inquests into the deaths began today with the selection of a jury and are expected to last several months.
The original Hillsborough inquest in March 1991 concluded with a verdict of accidental death for all those who died. Those judgments were quashed in December 2012, after the Hillsborough Independent Panel delivered its report on the tragedy.
Mr Kelly, whose brother Michael was 38 when he died in the disaster, said he was worried about how difficult it might be to hear details of the deaths during the hearings.
“Fresh evidence has been coming out on a regular basis since the Hillsborough Independent Panel report,” added the 61-year-old Liverpool native, whose parents had roots in Co. Offaly.
“We say to ourselves that it could not get any worse and sometimes it does, but we hope we have heard the last gruesome parts. Unfortunately only the next couple of months will tell us whether that is true.”
Men, women and children were among those who lost their lives on April 15, 1989, when Liverpool played Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup semi-final at Sheffield’s Hillsborough Stadium. It remains Britain’s worst sporting disaster.
The victims’ families are due to make opening statements this week, with “pen portraits” being presented to the court over the coming month.
The inquests will also include a visit to the site of the disaster, where jurors have been advised not to read the “deeply moving” tributes.
