James Millar (21), affectionately known as Mildew to his friends, hailed from Belfast but had recently got engaged and put down roots in Dublin after travelling the world with the Merchant Navy.
Introduction
My name is Laura Millar. Sister of Jim. I am telling this story as all our family has died leaving only me to tell it. And it will be a short one just like his life was.
Background
There were 3 boys and 2 girls in the family as well as Mum and Dad. I am the oldest and Jim was next, as there is only 18 months between us, we were always close. I was a tomboy always following Jim and his mates around, but he looked after me. Jim was my brother, but he was also my best friend, and he had his whole life ahead of him. He was 21 and engaged to be married to a lovely girl called Marion. He was so happy. Jim, before all this, travelled the world in the Merchant Navy and then he picked Dublin to settle down in and hopefully raise his family. Jim had left the North after our dad encouraged him, to keep him out of harm's way – away from the troubles in Northern Ireland at the time. That decision had always come back many times to haunt our dad who now blamed himself for Jim’s death.
The last Christmas before Jim died, he came home from the Merchant Navy to see mum and dad and all of the family and to see my son David for the first time. We really had a wonderful Christmas, everybody together again. Jim and his mates had got jobs in Dublin and had a house they all lived in together, until he got enough money to get a house of his own to live after he and Marion got married. But that was never going to be. Jim was a beautiful person and a loving son and brother. Waving him goodbye after Christmas, little did we know it was the last time we would see him alive.
We parted saying that me and my friend Patsy would see them all on Valentine’s weekend. Jim had invited us down to Dublin and after he said they had booked tickets to a dance competition in the Stardust. We never made it down as things happened at home, so we couldn’t go. As a result of us not going down, his fiancé came back up from Dublin and some of his mates with them decided to work over Valentine’s weekend instead, but Jim and Bobby went to the disco that night.
Stardust Fire
On Saturday when the papers reported about the fire, his fiancé phoned us up and said that not to worry because they had said that they weren’t going. My dad got told on his own at home by the police at about 6 o’clock in the evening of Saturday night. We were told his cry could be heard all over the estate. My friend and I were out and our Nun from the church ran my sister Norah down to get us. Jim and Bobby just wanted to live life as happy and safely as they could but that was denied to them.
Since then
So many lives were destroyed that night and to see my mum and dad going to pieces was heart-breaking. What was worse, was our younger brother Martin. We found out later that he and Jim got into a silly argument and as Jim went out of the door, Martin yelled 'I wish you were dead.’ He was only 12 years old, but he closed himself up and it was weeks before we learned what had taken place. Martin was another one (as well as my dad) who blamed himself and up to his death, he never got over it. Well, none of us got over it. You can’t.
Conclusion
Everybody keeps saying to us we were lucky to have not gone down that weekend. I have never seen it that way. Maybe seeing justice being done will help a little, but it’s been a long time coming. Too long. Maybe then they all can rest in peace at last, RIP.
