A survivor of the 1981 Stardust fire has described gradually losing her grasp on her friend’s hand as they were pushed and jostled amid the panic at an exit, and her friend dying.
Tina Brazil, 17 at the time of the disaster, became emotional at Dublin city coroner’s court on Wednesday and her sister came to the stand to support her. She had been at the Stardust on the night of February 13th, 1981 with friends Catherine Moore and Carol Bisset (18) from Ringsend, who perished, celebrating Ms Moore’s 18th birthday.
Ms Brazil was giving evidence on day 72 of fresh inquests into the deaths of 48 people at the north Dublin nightclub in a fire in the early hours of February 14th, 1981. Carol’s mother, Betty Bisset, was in the court to hear Ms Brazil recount how she had been sitting at a table while the two girls danced, when she saw smoke that was “thick, black... like coal”.
A few minutes later a young man alerted them to the fire. Ms Moore came from the dance floor and grabbed the coats and bags and was just in advance of them. She thought Ms Moore went towards another exit though Ms Moore later on Wednesday said she believed they all went in the direction of exit 5.
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Ms Brazil said: “I held Carol’s hand... I had her hand. Then I had her wrists and then it was like we broke away. I think I was carried forwards and she was carried back. There was too many people,” said Ms Brazil. She got out “either 5 or 4”.
“There was people pushing. There was an obstacle in its way... there was guys kicking it. They were taking turns. I could see the top [of the door] and it was closed. The door did eventually give way to the pressure... and people were standing on top of each other.” When she got out she searched for her friends, and at one point thought she found Carol lying outside.
“I was running around calling both their names. I thought I saw Carol lying... They were lining the dead and the worst victims. They were rotating people as people were dying,” she told the court.
“It took me over an hour to find Catherine. She was sitting in a load of mud and she was in shock... I was screaming for both of them.”
Referring again to the moment she lost Carol, she said: “She had a beautiful fur jacket. She kept saying, ‘My jacket Tina, my jacket,” and I said, “Catherine has them.” I don’t know what happened then because the lights just went out. When the lights went out that’s when everybody screamed.”
Patrick Coates, (18) at the time, had been there with friends, including some who were workmates from Superquinn in the Northside shopping centre, who lost their lives: George O’Connor (17) from Coolock, David Morton (19) from Artane, Liam Dunne (18) from Coolock, and Martina Keegan (16) from Coolock.
When he first saw the fire he did not think it serious, but then saw flames “shooting up and across the ceiling”.
He grabbed his jacket and put it over his and his girlfriend Jackie’s heads. Then ran down steps from the tiered seating area.
“Just as we came off the steps the lights went out.” Unable to see they ran first into railings around the side bar and then fell over chairs at exit 4. The inquests have previously heard testimony about chairs stacked at exit 4, hindering people’s free exit.
He had seen a television programme about fire safety from which he learned smoke rises “about 12 inches off the floor”, he said.
“I told Jackie to crawl... We went to one exit and it was locked. We crawled along and we felt fresh air coming through. We were lucky and got up.” They got out through exit 5. “I was choked with smoke, my hair was singed and there were blisters on my nose.”
Pauline Jenkins, 17 at the time, was alerted to the fire just after the dancing competition. She got to exit 4, off the dance floor, which was locked. She remembered “as clear as anything” a chain and padlock.
“They were trying everything [to get it open] but it just wouldn’t budge. It was the next door [exit 5] I got out... Everyone just went to the next door.” It too was “in a closed position” and a bottle skip by the door was used like a battering ram to force it open.
“The people banged [the bottle skip] at the door. The lads grabbed it and they were using it to open it. There could have been three or four [lads]. That’s how we got out.” She was “carried” out.
Noeleen Kearney, 17 at the time, also ran to exit 5 after seeing flames and black smoke which spread “very quickly”.
“Everyone was pushing trying to get out. I was trying to get back to my friends... but I was pushed with them [the crowd]. It was just chaos.” She tripped partially into a bottle skip inside the exit and a man helped her out.
Outside she wanted to go back in to find her friends and a man she thought was a fireman told her, “You can’t go back in love.”
The inquests continue on Thursday.
