The inquests into the deaths of the 48 young people who died in the Stardust fire in Artane, Dublin in 1981 feature pen portraits of each of the deceased by bereaved family members. Find all of the portraits and more coverage here.
John was the third child in a large family which had 11 surviving children.
John was a particularly quiet 18 year old, very sensitive and gentle. He really disliked conflict. He was very cautious. He was good at school – a great learner and he was known to be a very pleasant child.
John liked snooker and loved Elvis. He also loved watching horses in showjumping competitions. Above all, John loved his family. He was very, very family-orientated.
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The family was a very close one and John was very conscious of the need to get a job to contribute to the household, to help his parents. He had plans to do painting and decorating, to launch himself into a career.
John went out with his friends about once a week. He went to the Stardust with his girlfriend, Helena Mangan. Helena was the love of his life, a beautiful young woman who was also killed in the fire. They sat with a group which included John’s brother Lawrence, known as Larry.
The first that the family became aware that anything was wrong that night was the sound of banging on their front door, as friends of the boys, with blood on their shirts, told them of the Stardust fire.
The visit to the morgue was traumatic. As a family, we always said that John’s mother lost even more than one son in the fire. After getting burnt, Larry was changed as a young man. He carried a lot of survivor’s guilt and trauma. He was self-conscious of his injuries.
The behaviour of the whole family abruptly changed. In practical ways, there was a constant fear of fire (stopping candles being used, for example). In deeper ways that are harder to explain, there was a permanent change in the atmosphere. The family was broken-hearted. A sense of peace had been lost, leaving the family permanently unsettled.
We don’t know how John’s mother managed to shoulder the burden of this. She was an incredibly strong woman who we lost five years ago. John has always been talked about by our family.
His birthday and anniversary never pass unmarked. In fact, we remember him all the time because it’s often said about some little thing that happens or some remark that’s made – “that reminds me of John”.
Children in the extended family are named after him. He missed out on so much – having his own family and his own children. He would have been a painter-decorator with a career and a life of his own, but John never got to see and experience his adulthood.
As a family, we want the inquest to help us find closure. After all these years, justice would help bring us peace so we don’t remain unsettled.