Stardust waitress knew how to open door but ‘it would not budge’, inquests hearFurther evidence told of unsuccessful efforts to sneak in to nightclub by opening same door wrapped in chainsTue Jun 27 2023 - 18:27
‘It was just the policy’ - Stardust inquests hear first evidence of locked exits in significant week for hearingsCoroner’s court hears testimony of locked doors and a policy of draping chains over doors to make them seem locked at Dublin ballroom where 48 young people lost their lives in a Valentine’s Day discoFri Jun 23 2023 - 16:30
Stardust inquests: Witness says she could hear people screaming after exit doors were shutWoman who escaped blaze that claimed 48 lives describes how doors were closed to prevent people from re-entering to try to reach loved-onesFri Jun 23 2023 - 15:01
Stardust inquests: ‘The smoke started coming in under the door. I could hear the fire crackling outside’Former DJ at north Dublin venue describes events in the early hours of February 14th, 1981Thu Jun 22 2023 - 19:09
Stardust nightclub had ‘policy’ of locking exits, inquests toldVenue’s head of security says doors were locked to stop people entering without payingWed Jun 21 2023 - 21:17
Stardust inquests told that chains draped over emergency exits at discos was ‘common practice’ to ‘fool’ peopleHead of security at the Stardust nightclub Pheilim Kinahan agreed the practice was ‘designed to look as if it was locked’Tue Jun 20 2023 - 19:47
Tánaiste strongly defends neutrality debates following criticism by PresidentIreland in ‘drift’ towards Nato, says Higgins ahead of Government neutrality debatesSun Jun 18 2023 - 13:20
Stardust owner believed premises was ‘fireproof’ and had been ‘deliberately burned’Inquests hear evidence from Patrick Butterly, now dead, that Dublin Corporation should have ‘said what to do’Fri Jun 16 2023 - 18:01
Stardust ‘policy’ to loop chains over emergency exits to make them look locked, inquest hears Doorman Francis Kenny told inquests the practice ‘created catastrophic outcomes’Thu Jun 15 2023 - 17:01
Draughtsman who drew up Stardust renovation plans had not read fire standards, inquests hearHarold Gardner, now dead, gave evidence in 1981 that ‘fire department knew’ what was being recommendedWed Jun 14 2023 - 16:18
Witness of Stardust fire describes speed with which it spread at inquests‘From the time I left the ballroom and got into the foyer, the smoke had taken over and there was panic. That’s as quickly as it happened... You’re talking two or three minutes,’ says Dermot O’NeillTue Jun 13 2023 - 19:14
Stardust inquest: Former salesman takes ‘great offence’ at suggestion fire safety of carpet tiles was low priorityDeclan Conway tells counsel for 10 of the bereaved families that he sourced carpet tiles from UK company Illingsworth to line walls of nightclubFri Jun 09 2023 - 20:03
Stardust inquests: Emergency exits found locked several times before nightclub fireTestimony from electrical inspector read into record at inquests into the deaths of 48 people in 1981 fireThu Jun 08 2023 - 18:41
Stardust ‘melting ceiling’ probably caused by polystyrene insulation, not ceiling tilesInquest into fire in February 1981 heard from sales rep for firm that supplied fire-resistant boards to nightclubWed Jun 07 2023 - 21:09
Local water restrictions put in place around Clonakilty amid drought conditions in many areasUisce Éireann’s staff to continue to monitor water levels over the coming weeks and monthsMon Jun 05 2023 - 16:55
Extra €100 per child will be added to benefit payments on TuesdayAdditional support means €240 per child will be paid this month in respect of more than 1.2m childrenMon Jun 05 2023 - 07:00
‘No justice, no closure’: Widow speaks out on treatment of husband who died of sepsis after head wound not properly addressedMary Bartley-Meehan’s husband had a head wound infested with maggots on arrival at hospital. He died less than three weeks laterMon Jun 05 2023 - 04:00
Census 2022: Number of non-Irish citizens usually resident in Ireland rises to 12 per cent of populationLargest groups were Polish and UK citizens, followed by Indian, Romanian and LithuanianTue May 30 2023 - 15:09
Census 2022: Average cost of rent in private sector increased by 37% between 2016 and 2022New data show 330,632 homes rented from private landlords with proportion of owner-occupied home falling by 4%Tue May 30 2023 - 15:03
Legislating to recognise parental alienation would be ‘ill-advised’, Department of Justice report warnsPolicy paper neither accepts nor rejects parental alienation as a conceptThu May 25 2023 - 18:34
Stardust: over 80 new witnesses found in trawl of documents at Department of Housing, inquest toldDes Fahy, acting for a number of the 45 families bereaved by the 1981 disaster, said his legal team was ‘concerned’ by the volume of previously unknown material, and the time at which it had come to lightThu May 25 2023 - 14:43
Steel plates, bars welded to Stardust club toilet windows ‘for security’ six weeks before fireThere had been seven inspections of the venue between July 1979 and January 1981, by a Dublin Corporation staff memberWed May 24 2023 - 16:39
TD calls for inquiry into use of ‘parental alienation’ in family law casesFine Gael’s Bernard Durkan says he is contacted ‘weekly’ by mothers losing children in family court disputes after being accused of ‘parental alienation’, which he describes as a ‘pseudo condition’Tue May 23 2023 - 19:19
Stardust inquests ‘about to enter into a very different stage of proceedings’ - CoronerDublin coroner Dr Myra Cullinane described the tragic fire as ‘the most serious loss of life in one incident of this type in the history of the State’Tue May 23 2023 - 16:41
Man (61) faces eviction after tenancies board rules in his favour over gas charges dispute John Barry a tenant of Limerick City and County Council, but home owned by private care operatorTue May 23 2023 - 05:02
HSE to run drug-testing service at several summer festivalsSurrender bins to feature along with medical tents where information can be sought about safety firstMon May 22 2023 - 00:01
Inside the many working-class, northside Dublin families whose lives were destroyed by the StardustOver the past month portraits of the 48 young people who died have elicited laughter, smiles and many tears; and descriptions of the impact on parents have been ineffably sadSat May 20 2023 - 05:00
‘It’s taken 15 years to even get a bus stop’: Mansion House event hears of need for local activistsEvent in Mansion House showcases initiative to train local people as community representativesFri May 19 2023 - 19:06
Stardust disaster: ‘They were not just numbers or victims, they had dreams and lives to look forward to’‘Pen portraits’ section of inquests draws to a close at Dublin Coroner’s Court, ending a sometimes harrowing but also emotionally uplifting phase of evidenceFri May 19 2023 - 05:00
Murtagh ‘Murty’ Kavanagh (27), Coolock - ‘He was caring and generous, ready to help no matter what’Read by his sister Terry JonesThu May 18 2023 - 15:53
Margaret Thornton (19), Dublin 1 - ‘She was the baby of the family, we all doted on her’Read by her sister Patricia GreeneThu May 18 2023 - 14:44
John Stout (18), Coolock - ‘He would have been a painter-decorator with a career and a life of his own’Read by his niece Alison ForresterThu May 18 2023 - 14:05
Brendan O’Meara (23), Coolock: ‘I can’t remember my own brother’s funeral’Read by niece Suzann O’Meara on behalf of his brother Jimmy O’MearaThu May 18 2023 - 12:02
George O’Connor (17), Coolock: ‘He was much adored by me ... and also by our younger siblings’Read by his sister, Donna O’ConnorWed May 17 2023 - 15:59
Kathleen Muldoon (19), Kells, Co Meath: ‘She loved looking after and caring for people’Read by her brother, Hugh MuldoonWed May 17 2023 - 15:22
David Morton (19), Artane - ‘I looked up to him and wanted to be as cool as he was’Read by his brother AlanWed May 17 2023 - 14:37
Jim Millar (20), Belfast: ‘He was engaged to be married to a lovely girl...He was so happy’Read by his sister, Laura MillarTue May 16 2023 - 13:10
Caroline McHugh (17), Artane: ‘A day never goes by without us thinking of our beautiful daughter’Read by her parents Phyllis and Maurice McHughTue May 16 2023 - 12:37
Gerard McGrath (21), Coolock – ‘A talented and dapper young man’Read by Gay McKeon on behalf of his late sister-in-law Liz McKeon, Gerard’s sisterFri May 12 2023 - 16:18
Julie McDonnell (20), Coolock – ‘She was fun, loving, happy, smiling, helpful, caring and thoughtful’Read by her niece PamelaFri May 12 2023 - 13:05
Teresa McDonnell (16), Coolock – ‘She was a beautiful girl who loved life and tried to enjoy every moment’Read by her brother Richard and sister Lorraine SorohanFri May 12 2023 - 12:55
Stardust: ‘I am the mother of William McDermott, Marcella and George who I loved very much’Brigid McDermott (86) told the inquest about losing three of her children in the February 1981 nightclub fireThu May 11 2023 - 17:59
Marcella McDermott (16), Raheny – ‘Music was a big part of her life ... she never stopped dancing’Read by her sister SelinaThu May 11 2023 - 17:00
William McDermott (22), Raheny - ‘He was the big brother who protected us all’Read by his sister LouiseThu May 11 2023 - 16:51
George McDermott (18), Raheny - ‘He was so funny, one of the nicest people you could meet’Read by his sister JuneThu May 11 2023 - 16:29
Helena Mangan (22), Coolock – ‘Before my mammy left that night, she gave me a big kiss and hug’Read by her daughter Samantha CurranThu May 11 2023 - 12:39
Eamonn Loughman (18), Beaumont - ‘He looked after me, played ball with me. He gave me crossers on his racer’Read by his cousin Carol, on behalf of his familyWed May 10 2023 - 17:34
Paul Wade (17), Artane – ‘He was the most outgoing and the one with the most friends’Read by his nephew Emmet on behalf of his brother TonyWed May 10 2023 - 17:34
Paula Lewis (19), Coolock - ‘Our big sister, my mother’s right-hand woman and my dad’s pride and joy’Read by her brother JohnWed May 10 2023 - 16:46
Donna Mahon (17), Edenmore - ‘She loved her life, loved her role in the shop and loved all the people who came in’Read by her sister Theresa FitzpatrickWed May 10 2023 - 14:18
