Wednesday is the 37th anniversary of a tragedy that killed 48 people. The 1986 tribunal revealed the searing anguish of survivors, says Caroline O’Doherty.

THEY were adults who slept with the lights on, for fear that the dark would consume them.

They were workmates and friends, who had neither the focus to labour, nor the peace to relax.

A fresh inquest is to be held into the deaths of 48 people in the Stardust nightclub fire in Dublin.

The Republic’s Attorney General confirmed on Wednesday that the application for a new inquest had been successful.

The application was made by victims’ families in April after years of campaigning over the fire in Artane.

Three of those who died in the St Valentine’s Day blaze in 1981 were from Northern Ireland.

THE ATTORNEY GENERAL has today confirmed that fresh inquests will be held into the 48 deaths at the 1981 Stardust fire.

The families, through their lawyers Phoenix Law, made a formal application for a fresh investigation by way of an inquest in April of this year.

In the early hours of 14 February 1981, a devastating fire ripped through the Stardust fire in Artane, north Dublin. 48 people died, and over 200 were injured.

Nightclub blaze claimed lives of 48 young people and injuring more than 200 others

February 14th, 1981 – A blaze rips through the Stardust nightclub, in Artane, north Dublin, killing 48 young people and injuring more than 200 others, primarily from the capital’s northside. It remains the worst fire disaster in the history of the State.

On 14 February 1981, 48 people perished in a fire while celebrating Valentine’s Day in the Stardust nightclub in Artane, North Dublin.

A vigil is being held today by the families of the victims at 5.48pm in memory of those they lost.

Although it is now 36 years on from the tragedy, the families continue to fight for the justice their loved ones never got.

Dublin Live looks back at the Stardust tragedy – from what happened through to where we are today.

A fire broke out during a function in the Stardust Disco, Artane, Dublin, in the early morning of
February 14th, 1981. As a result, 48 young people died, 128 received in-patient treatment and 86 were treated that night in hospital accident and emergency departments.

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