{"id":31369,"date":"2024-04-20T16:36:07","date_gmt":"2024-04-20T16:36:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/20\/irelands-prime-minister-apologises-to-families-of-stardust-nightclub-fire-victims-after-emotional-meeting\/"},"modified":"2024-04-20T16:36:07","modified_gmt":"2024-04-20T16:36:07","slug":"irelands-prime-minister-apologises-to-families-of-stardust-nightclub-fire-victims-after-emotional-meeting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/20\/irelands-prime-minister-apologises-to-families-of-stardust-nightclub-fire-victims-after-emotional-meeting\/","title":{"rendered":"Ireland’s prime minister apologises to families of Stardust nightclub fire victims after ’emotional’ meeting"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Ireland’s<\/div>


\n<\/p>\n

\n

Ireland’s new taoiseach has apologised to the families of 48 people killed in the Stardust nightclub fire in 1981, after a decades-long campaign for justice.<\/p>\n

Simon Harris<\/a><\/strong> held a meeting on Saturday with more than 70 people affected by the fire, which was the worst in Ireland’s history.<\/p>\n

In a statement afterwards, the taoiseach said he “apologised unreservedly to each family” and promised they will receive a formal state apology in the Irish parliament on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The apology came after an inquest earlier this week ruled the 48 victims of the fire were all unlawfully killed<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

“It was a humbling and emotional meeting,” Mr Harris said. “I want to thank every person who attended for what they told me.<\/p>\n

“More than 70 people came to the Department of the Taoiseach today. However, I am acutely aware that the numbers affected by Stardust is many, many multiples of that.<\/p>\n

“That includes those injured, the people working in Stardust, the frontline workers who fought to save lives on the night.<\/p>\n

“It includes survivors, the fire crews, the ambulance staff, the gardai, the army, the taxi drivers and the communities across Ireland who have carried this tragedy with them for 43 years.”<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>
\n Image:<\/span>
\n Simon Harris said the meeting was ‘humbling and emotional’. Pic: Reuters
\n <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

After the meeting in Dublin<\/a><\/strong>, campaigners said families will receive individual written apologies. They will also work with government officials on the wording of Tuesday’s statement.<\/p>\n

Maurice McHugh, whose 17-year-old daughter Caroline died in the fire, welcomed the apology but added: “It has to be genuine, it can’t just be sorry, it needs to be more than that.<\/p>\n

“Forty-three years of history – he has a hell of a lot of work to do in three days.”<\/p>\n

Read more:
How Stardust was seared into the Irish consciousness<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n \"Maurice\n <\/div>
\n Image:<\/span>
\n Maurice and Phyllis McHugh, who lost their only child in the fire, speaking after the meeting. Pic: PA
\n <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The inquest ruling earlier this week came after a previous finding, issued in 1982, said the fire was a result of probable arson – which the families never accepted. That ruling was dismissed in 2009, leading to the latest inquest.<\/p>\n

The fire took place in the early hours of Valentine’s Day when the Stardust nightclub, in Artane, north Dublin, was packed with 800 people. More than 200 were injured.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

The fire started because of an electrical fault in an airing cupboard, the jury ruled.<\/p>\n

In the main ballroom, foam in seating, the height of an alcove ceiling and carpet tiles on walls all contributed to the spread of the blaze, the jurors found.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ireland’s new taoiseach has apologised to the families of 48 people killed in the Stardust nightclub fire in 1981, after a decades-long campaign for justice. Simon Harris held a meeting on Saturday with more than 70 people affected by the fire, which was the worst in Ireland’s history. In a statement afterwards, the taoiseach said […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":31370,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/24\/03\/768x432\/skynews-simon-harris-ireland_6496941.jpg?20240321152614","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2598,7170,11227,80,8461,4286,2124,19126,8088,21284,5544],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31369"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31369"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31371,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31369\/revisions\/31371"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}