Over 80 new witnesses, as well as witness statements made to a solicitor acting for the Butterly family in the days after the 1981 Stardust nightclub fire, have been found in a trawl of documents in the Department of Housing, inquests into the deaths of 48 young people have heard.
Des Fahy, KC, 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 light.
Inquests into the deaths of 48 people, aged between 16 and 27 and who died in a fire in the early hours of 14th February 1981, have just got under way in Dublin. Witnesses are due to be heard from June 7th.
Mr Fahy, addressing coroner Dr Myra Cullinane who sat without a jury on Thursday, referred to the “considerable number of new witnesses that were identified yesterday, considerable number of supplementary witness statements identified and the solicitor statements that have been identified and provided to us.”
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The new material comprises 81 witnesses, 128 supplementary witness statements and 26 statements made within days of the fire to a solicitor acting for the Butterly family who owned the venue, The Irish Times has established.
Mr Fahy outlined how Phoenix Law, acting for 44 of the families, had sought statements made “by a number of witnesses to the solicitor for one of the other witnesses to the inquest”. This gave rise to a trawl of papers in the Department of Housing and “a considerable amount” of new material had been found. This was provided to legal teams on Wednesday.
“We are concerned at the volume of that and the time at which it has arrived,” said Mr Fahy. He said Phoenix Law would “require the time to consider those and particularly the new witnesses – I think the number is 81.
“We will then have to have a very proactive discussion as to the scheduling of the witnesses.” He agreed with a proposal from counsel for the inquest that the newly identified material would be examined by legal teams “during the short break” between Thursday and June 7th.
Mr Fahy reiterated concerns about a “significant witness” who has declared himself medically unfit to testify. Identified as “witness number 20″, he is a member of management on the night of the disaster.
“He impacts on the evidence of other staff members. He is an individual interviewed in the media and he is a witness in respect of whom we are very interested,” said Mr Fahy. He asked that the coroner not accept at face value his assertion of being medically unfit, and that counsel be permitted to review medical evidence and challenge if necessary. This could be an issue with other witnesses, he added.
Dr Cullinane said she would ensure she had “sufficient clinical information for me to make an informed decision as to whether or not a relevant witness is unable” to testify. She agreed there were “lots of modalities to facilitate the attendance of a witness” including breaks during examination.
“If I am not satisfied with the clinical information I have been provided with I will decide the witness should be summoned. If I do make a decision with which any interested person wishes to take issue ... there will be an opportunities for parties to debate,” she said.
