The family of a Derry teenager who died in a fire in Dublin nightclub 33 years ago are still waiting for truth and justice, Sinn Fein deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald has said.
The interior of the destroyed Stardust Nightclub.
Derry teenager Susan Morgan, from Carnhill, was among the 48 people who died when a blaze destroyed the Stardust nightclub in Artane on 14 February 1981.
Several of Susan’s friends survived.
Ms McDonald said the survivors and the bereaved had still not got truth and justice.
She has urged Taoiseach Enda Kenny to accede to the request to meet the families.
Ms McDonald said: “We extend our continuing sympathy and solidarity to the survivors of the tragedy and to the bereaved families of the 48 young people who died.
“After all these years the families have still not got full truth about why their loved ones died and about the totally inadequate way in which the tragedy was investigated and dealt with by the institutions of this State.
“The strong evidence that the fire began in the roof space and other evidence pointing to the culpability of the owners of the complex have never been given proper weight by the State.
“The Taoiseach Enda Kenny should immediately accede to the request of the Stardust families for him to meet with them. A new independent investigation should be established and this investigation should include a thorough examination of the inadequate way in which State agencies dealt with this tragedy.”
The report by the Independent Examination into the Stardust Fire concluded that the original 1981 tribunal conclusion of “probable arson” was a “mere hypothetical explanation”.
The old conclusion that the fire was started deliberately caused much anger and indignation among bereaved families who believed it cast suspicion of criminal wrongdoing on everyone who was in the Stardust ballroom that fatal night.
Following the publication of the report on Friday, the government accepted that as a “matter of fact” the actual cause of the catastrophic fire that killed 48 young people on February 14 1981 was “unknown”.
Spokeswoman for the Stardust Victims’ Committee, Antoinette Keegan, said the outcome “was a victory for the dead”.
“We were fighting for the truth to be put on public record, that the cause of the fire was not arson, and our day has come,” said Ms Keegan.
She added: “This day is for the 48 victims that lost their lives almost 28 years ago. It was a fight, a long campaign for justice for them, and we have done it.”
Ms Morgan, who was 18 years-old when she died in the blaze, came from the Carnhill area of Derry.
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