They Never Came Home: The Stardust Story.
Author: FETHERSTONHAUGH, Neil & McCULLAGH, Tony.
Dublin: Merlin, 2006. Second Edition. xii, 251 pages. Illustrated. Paperback.
The fire that engulfed Dublin’s Stardust nightclub in the early hours of St Valentine’s Day 1981 killed 48 young people and injured and disfigured many more. Countless others continued to suffer the emotional scars of loss and grief for the remainder of their lives. The official inquiry into the disaster found that the Stardust’s owners had acted with “reckless disregard” for the safety of its patrons, but no charges were ever brought against them. In fact, they went on to win substantial damages for the loss of the nightclub complex.
Victims of the fire always claimed that the inquiry did not go far enough. Why, despite numerous inspections of the Stardust by Dublin Corporation, were the owners able to get away with repeated breaches of fire regulations and building bye-laws? What caused the flames to spread across the vast nightclub so rapidly? Why were so many patrons prevented from escaping by locked or chained fire exits? Why were steel plates fixed over all of the toilet windows?
The authors of They Never Came Home investigate disturbing new evidence that casts doubt on the original finding of “probable” arson.
ISBN: 1903582636