‘No amount would pay for your child’ – Stardust victim’s mother ‘can’t afford to live’ as all but one family gets compensation

ALL but one of the Stardust victims’ families have received their payments from the state’s €24 million reparations scheme.

And The Irish Sun can reveal that a second phase of compensation for survivors has now begun as officials determine who should be eligible.

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Long-time campaigner Gertrude Barrett lost her 17-year-old son Michael, who was working as an assistant DJ at the Dublin club when the horrific fire broke out in the early hours of Valentine’s Day in 1981.

She told us about the €500,000 reward awarded to her family: “That’s how it is. No amount would pay you for your child and the last 43 years.

“It wouldn’t restore or destroy an hour, a day, a week, a month, the tears and more. Lost time with my remaining children, broken lives, a broken home and so much more.

“I sincerely hope that the public will be aware of this when they read the proposed amounts and will never lose sight of our loss, its consequences and the cruel and heartbreaking 43 years we have been given. Life is truly priceless. »

Following a Stardust Compensation Tribunal in 1985, the families received an ex-gratia payment of just €7,500 on the basis that they could not take any further legal action against anyone in relation to the tragedy.

That all changed this year following the results of new investigations which revealed that the young men had all been killed illegally.

Under the government’s new reparations scheme, the McDermott family who lost siblings Willie, 22, George, 18, and Marcella, 16, in the fire, received $1.5 million euros.

Only one family – the Keegans – has yet to receive the reparation amount.

They are entitled to €1 million for the loss of Mary, 19, and Martina, 16, in the nightclub horror which cost 48 lives.

VOW FOR JUDICIAL ACTION

Late mother Christine and her sister Antoinette led the campaign for justice for decades, but a family dispute means they are yet to get their funds back.

Antoinette vowed to take legal action against the state after learning the million-euro payment had been suspended indefinitely.

Brothers John and Neville insisted that the money be shared equally between the six remaining siblings and launched a legal battle to prevent it from being paid out.

Neville told The Irish Sun: “Each member of the family should receive €166,667, split equally between all six and paid that way. We are not looking for anything more, just fairness. We also lost our two sisters.

“The money can stay where it is unless the government takes this approach, as far as I’m concerned. We are the only family that has not yet received this money.

Antoinette recently said: “There is an argument with two family members that is going on indefinitely. There is no solution, no conclusion, no agreement.”

She added: “At the eleventh hour the state told us that one million would be detained indefinitely until an agreement could be reached between the family. »

GOVERNMENT APPROVED PROGRAM

The second phase of compensation – a reparations system for survivors – has now begun. When deciding who should be compensated and how much, the Department of Justice will take into account compensation paid under the 1985 tribunal.

At the time, the government paid Irish pounds 10.5 million to survivors.

Of 823 applicants, the vast majority received up to £20,000. Five people received between £100,000 and £200,000.

In a statement, the Ministry of Justice said: “In July, the government approved a program of ex gratia reparations totaling €24 million which was agreed with the families’ legal representatives.

“The majority of applications under this program have been finalized. In order to respect the privacy of families, it is not possible to comment on individual cases.

“A second phase of exception to be considered in relation to survivors will take into account the fact that compensation has been previously awarded by the Stardust Victims Compensation Tribunal established in 1985.

“Work to develop proposals for this exceptional phase has begun.”

43-YEAR-OLD FIGHT

The original 1982 court determined that the cause of the fire “may never be known” but ruled that it was “probably started deliberately.” The move allowed club owner Eamon Butterly to take legal action against Dublin City Council and he was ultimately awarded £580,000, the equivalent of almost €2 million in 2024.

The grief of the families of the 48 young victims was compounded by the findings of Judge Ronan Keane at the original court, who they said described someone at the scene as an arsonist.

They embarked on a 43-year fight to clear their loved one’s name, ultimately leading to new investigations being announced in 2019.

These were delayed due to Covid but finally started at the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin in April 2023.

They heard damning evidence showing how the exit doors of the Artane nightclub were locked, chained or obstructed on the night of the deadly fire. Jurors also heard about how the toilet windows had been closed and the electrical wiring was faulty.

Club owner Butterly made numerous legal attempts to have unlawful killings removed as a possible verdict. But his efforts failed and he was ordered to pay the families’ legal costs for numerous actions brought in the High Court during the investigations.

“SALT IN TERRIBLE WOUNDS”

The campaign for justice ended last April when the inquest jury ruled that the fire was probably caused by an electrical fault in the hot press and that the 48 young people had been killed unlawfully.

The story of the Stardust tragedy and the 43-year fight for justice is told in The Irish Sun’s award-winning eight-part podcast.

The week after the investigations concluded, Taoiseach Simon Harris stood up in the Dail and offered a sincere public apology to the families of the 48 victims.

He said: “I know there were many times when you thought this day would never come after many, many years. I am deeply sorry that you had to fight for so long.

“Unequivocally, we are sorry. We should have stood with you, but instead we forced you to oppose us.

He expressed hope that the state, which has “put salt on your terrible wounds,” will begin to help the victims heal.

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