Families, friends and supporters remember the victims of the Stardust fire at the opening of a memorial garden in Coolock.
Forty eight young people were killed and over 200 people injured when a fire broke out in the Stardust nightclub in Artane, Dublin on 14 February 1981.
Lord Mayor of Dublin Tomás Mac Giolla performs the official opening of the park which is dedicated to those who lost their lives in the Stardust and pays tribute to their families who campaigned for its creation. He calls this a public space which is,
The scene of a community's determination never to forget.
Consisting of a bronze sculpture of a dancing couple by Robin Buick, set in a circular pool with a fountain pumped by forty eight jets, the memorial includes forty eight stone fence panels, each one representing a person who died as a result of the fire.
Christine Keegan lost her daughters Mary and Martina in the fire and her late husband John during the campaign the creation of a Stardust memorial. She describes the park as,
A fitting living memorial.
Former Taoiseach Charles Haughey and Minister for Social Welfare Michael Woods were present, as was Archbishop of Dublin Dr Desmond Connell. At the request of the families singer Christy Moore performs a song composed in the aftermath of the tragedy,
Let us remember the suffering and pain
The survivors and victims of the fire in Artane
The 48 children that never came home.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 18 September 1993. The reporter is Mark Little.
