THE long fight for justice for the 48 young people killed in the 1981 Stardust nightclub fire continues, as families gathered on St Valentine’s Day to mark another year and continue their demands for justice.
Dublin Fire Brigade line up with familiesCarole Barrett, whose then 17-year-old brother Michael died in the blaze, joined fellow families who for decades have been demanding accountability. She revealed that she continues to contact Ireland’s Minister for Justice every day, seeking answers and urging progress in what she believes is a painfully slow Garda criminal review. Her persistence reflects the determination of survivors and bereaved families who have refused to let the notorious tragedy fade into history.
The Stardust families' campaign reached a landmark moment in April 2024, when then Taoiseach Simon Harris issued a formal State apology in the Dáil. The apology followed a lengthy and renewed inquest that overturned earlier disputed findings and concluded that all 48 young victims, aged between 16 and 27, had been “unlawfully killed”. For the families, the verdict validated decades of advocacy. Yet for Mrs Barrett, it also sharpened the central question: if the deaths were unlawful, when does accountability happen?
Nearly two years after that verdict, Mrs Barrett says the wait for accountability has become intolerable. “When someone has been unlawfully killed, then somebody has unlawfully killed them,” she said, expressing frustration at the lack of visible progress. She noted that in the 45 years since the fire, Ireland has seen 21 Ministers for Justice and 13 Garda Commissioners. “People who are supposed to stand for justice, yet we are still left waiting,” she added.
An Garda Síochána has confirmed that its Serious Crime Review Team continues to examine the case and remains in contact with families. A spokesperson offered sympathies to those affected, particularly during this anniversary period. But for the Barrett family, sympathy is no substitute for action. Carole Barrett urged greater action from the Minister for Justice and questioned why the same urgency shown by the Taoiseach in cases such as Irish peacekeeper Private Sean Rooney’s death in Lebanon cannot be applied to the Stardust tragedy.
Last Saturday, together with Carole’s 82-year-old mother, Gertrude, they retraced the steps they both took the morning after the fire, standing once again outside the Dublin Coroner’s Court. Beside them were placards honouring Michael and other victims, along with a stark black-and-white photograph from 1981 showing the family arriving at the morgue in search of their son and brother the morning after the tragedy.
Later, supporters, survivors and emergency service personnel gathered in the north Dublin suburb of Artane at the former Stardust nightclub site, now a retail park, for a solemn memorial. A wall of photographs commemorates the 48 lives lost. Wreaths were laid by representatives of An Garda Síochána, Dublin Fire Brigade and the Defence Forces. Poems were read, songs performed, including the Christy Moore ballad "They Never Came Home", and a 48-second silence observed.
The names of the victims were read out by Claire Bird, wife of campaign advocate and former RTÉ journalist Charlie Bird. Messages of solidarity arrived from supportive groups, including the Omagh, Bloody Sunday, Creeslough and Post Office Horizon campaigns, in comradeship with the Dublin families' shared struggle for truth and justice.
See More: Michael Barrett, Simon Harris, Stardust Tragedy
