Robert Kelly (17), from Coolock, was known as Spikey because of his distinct hairdo. He adored music, especially bands like The Bay City Rollers, The Specials, and The Undertones, and enjoyed embroidering designs on his denim jacket.
My name is Antoinette Keegan. I have been asked by Miss Sally Kelly, eldest sister of Robert Kelly, who was killed in the Stardust Fire, to give this pen portrait of him. I am privileged to do this on behalf of the Kelly family. I do it in honour of Robert's brother, Eugene, who was a dear friend of mine for over two decades.
If Eugene was alive, it would have meant so much to him to speak here today about his brother, Robert, whom he loved so much.
Background
Robert was born on the 28th of January 1964, in Dublin. He was the youngest child to William and Theresa Kelly, who had five boys and four girls. They lived in an end terrace house in Edenmore Crescent.
As a child, Robert was a beautiful lad. He was a bit of a character in a lot of ways, and one way was how he came to be called Spikey Kelly. It's funny because he gave himself his own nickname, which then stuck on him growing up, until his death. He nicknamed himself Spikey because of his hair, as it used to be very spikey.
Robert attended St. Malachy's Primary School in Edenmore. Then progressed to Killester College Secondary School to do his inter-cert. After leaving secondary school, Robert got a job working on the B& I boats. His plan was to stay working on the boats as he loved this job.
Although there was six years between Eugene and Robert, they were very close as brothers. Not only were they close as brothers, but they were very best friends too, and Eugene was always very protective of his little brother. They both worked on the B& I ships, but Robert was on the Stena line, while Eugene was on the Leinster, or the Munster, so they would have been on different shifts at different ports.
Robert liked music. His first band that he followed was the Bay City Rollers. As time went on, he started to like the Sex Pistols, Sham 69, the Undertones, The Specials and Blondie. Robert had lots of hobbies and one of his favourite hobbies was embroidery. He just loved doing this. He had a Wrangler jacket that he loved wearing and he had done embroidery all over it. He loved it even more after he finished it with his personal touch of embroidery.
As the youngest of nine children, Robert was idolised by his mother, his daddy, his brothers and sisters, his nephews and nieces, his godchild Mandy (Eugene's daughter), his aunts, his uncles, his cousins, his friends and all the neighbours.
Everyone loved Robert and he loved everyone, but he had one person that he particularly loved and adored. And that was his mammy. The love Robert had for his mammy was unconditional love.
Shortly before he was killed in the Stardust, he went into town and bought a boat for his mam for a present. A few days later, on the 28th of January, 1981, Robert's birthday, just two weeks before the Stardust Fire, he used his money his sister gave him for a birthday present, to go into town to get the John Lennon record 'Woman', and handed it straight to his Mammy, saying, "I bought you a present". He gave her a present out of his own birthday money. He idolised his mother.
Robert celebrated his birthday later that day with his friends. They had a few cans of drinks at the railway track, celebrating Robert's turning 17, with a bit of banter and a laugh.
THE STARDUST FIRE
On the weekend that he was killed in the Stardust, Robert was due to work on the ship, but it went into dry dock, giving him the week off. He got himself ready to go to the Stardust.
His friend Paul Nolan lived right next door, so the two of them made their way to the Stardust together. As they approached the Stardust, Robert was stopped and refused entrance by a bouncer, as he looked young. Paul Nolan declined to go in without him. They both sat on the wall outside for a while, then joined the queue again and were allowed in. They paid their £3 entrance fee, they were searched, and then went to the bar and bought pints.
Paul Nolan recalls the last time Robert was seen alive was at the Stardust. He was standing in front of the stage with Michael Barrett, while Michael Barrett was bending over helping the DJ with the records. They were laughing and joking. Then, they noticed the fire.
There was huge panic with people trying to get out. It was like a horror scene from a movie, but it was real. Paul Nolan got out that night through the main door. He looked for Robert running around outside with his other friends, Michael Seery, Joe Brown, Pierce Godfrey.
Paddy Nolan. Paul was then told to get in an ambulance, and he was brought to the Mater Hospital. Paul panicked and ran away from the hospital. The driver of a passing car noticed Paul with his burned clothes and offered to bring him home. When Paul got out of the man's car, he ran next door straight into the Kellys’ house, banging the door down till Mr. and Mrs. Kelly opened the door and asked, what is all the commotion? Paul kept pleading with them to go and check if Robert was in his room, but Robert's bed was empty. Robert never came home.
Mr. and Mrs. Kelly didn't know what to do, as they panicked. They went looking for Robert and couldn't find him and then tried to contact their other son, Eugene, who was working on the boat. Eugene was called to the captain of the ship and was told to ring home immediately as it was an emergency. Eugene rang his parents from the boat and was told that there had been a fire in the Stardust. Robert was there and he hasn't been found yet.
Getting home as fast as he could, Eugene drove his gold Ford Cortina to all the hospitals in Dublin. He always recalled how, as he drove the car into the driveway, He could hear the roars and crying of his mammy and his dad coming from the house. They were hysterical. He tried to comfort them by saying it isn't confirmed that Robert is dead.
Reality was coming closer to Eugene as he was told by the Guards to go to the morgue. Eugene dreaded this. He went to the morgue, and it was confirmed that Robert had been killed in the Stardust. He was later identified by dental records a few days later.
Since then
Over the years of knowing Eugene Kelly as a friend, a bereaved family member, who lost a loved one in the Stardust, and also a committee member, he would tell me different stories about his brother Robert.
Eugene told me that just two weeks before he was killed in the Stardust, Robert was lying on his bed and had an out of body experience and thought to himself," I am not afraid of death". Eugene said Robert spoke about this right up to the night of the Stardust.
14th February 1981.
When it was confirmed that Robert had died, one of Robert's aunts contacted his favourite band, the English punk band, Sham ‘69. When she contacted the band's frontman, Jimmy Pursey, and told him the news, the Kelly family received a wreath from Jimmy Percy for Robert's funeral. The family thought it was a beautiful gesture for Robert.
Twenty years later, Eugene and Robert's friend, who survived the stardust, Paul Nolan, met Sham ‘69 in Temple Bar, and Jimmy Pursey remembered all about the Kelly family.
After Robert Kelly's funeral, the Kelly family were never the same again. It broke the hearts of Mr. and Mrs. Kelly, Eugene and all his family. They just could not cope. The family fell apart. They just could not believe that they were never going to see Robert again. As he lay in a closed coffin, they were told to remember him the way he was.
Robert had been saving all his money to go on a holiday to Spain, and I always recall Eugene saying that his mother had always said "Poor Robert was saving for his holiday, but little did he know he was saving for his own funeral, as he never got a chance to go on his holiday."
Conclusion
It is clear from talking to Sally Kelly The sister of Robert Kelly, that the family are still hurting from Robert's untimely death.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for sharing their stories with me to do this portrait on behalf of their beloved brother Robert. I would also like to thank Paul Nolan, Robert Kelly's friend for sharing his stories about the great friendship he had with Robert.
Finally, I wish it was Robert's brother, Eugene Kelly, who was reading this portrait of Robert here today. I hope and pray that Robert, his mammy, his daddy, and Eugene are happy that this portrait is true and to the beautiful boy, Robert, who had his whole life ahead of him and was taken too young.
