Stardust families to protest outside Department of Justice for new inquest venue

Next month will mark the 41st anniversary of the Stardust tragedy.

On Valentine's night 1981 a tragic event struck a community on the Northside of Dublin that still lingers in the hearts and minds of many to this day. The Stardust nightclub in Artane became ablaze with hundreds of young people inside ultimately leading to the deaths of 48. 41 years on the families of those who perished are still searching for answers and now they are facing even more difficulty as they have lost their inquest venue. The contract for the current venue at the RDS is due to expire next month, leaving the families with no venue to continue their inquest. The families say they intend to protest outside of the Department of Justice from this Thursday until a they have confirmation on a new inquest venue. Duringa statement given yesterday, a spokesperson for the families said;

"As we have received an email from the Department of Justice on behalf of the Minister for Justice, Minister Helen Mc Entee last night and she has confirmed that as of yet they still have not found a venue for the upcoming Stardust Inquest. We have contacted Pearse Street Garda station to inform them the following. As of Thursday 13th January 2022 at 11am we the families of the Stardust will be protesting outside the Department of Justice. We will be playing songs continuously for the day, and every day onwards, until the Department of Justice announces a new venue for the upcoming stardust Inquest. We are being kicked out of the RDS in February and we want clarification of our new venue NOW. The Department of Justice are well aware of this, but just want to continue their systematic abuse towards us families. We won’t give up, until we get a new venue."