A solicitor for the parents of one of three teenagers who died at a St Patrick's Day event in Co Tyrone in 2019 told a court today that an inquest into their deaths offered some light at the end of "a very dark tunnel".
Lauren Bullock and Morgan Barnard, both aged 17 and 16-year-old Connor Currie died as the result of a crush as hundreds of young people queued to get into a disco at the Greenvale Hotel in Cookstown.
Six years and nine months after the deaths, the parents of the teenagers were in Laganside Courts in Belfast this afternoon for a preliminary inquest hearing.
Coroner Marie Dougan opened the short hearing by expressing "heartfelt condolences" for what she called their "immeasurable loss".
But she pointed out that the inquest process cannot proceed until criminal proceedings have concluded. That means it will not get under way until 2027.
The owner of the hotel and a member of its security staff the have pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of the teenagers.
Michael McElhatton, 58, of Rock Road Moneymore and 47-year-old Seamus Mitchell, of Mullan Road, Coagh, are jointly charged with their unlawful killing.
The trial is expected to last three months and has been given a start date of 5 October 2026.
The coroner told the families that work is being done behind the scenes to gather all relevant material so the inquest can proceed as soon as possible after the trial ends.
The court was told that includes 65 lever arch files of documents and CCTV footage gathered as part of the PSNI investigation.
Solicitors for the families said they wanted to express their appreciation to the coroner for formally beginning the inquest process.
"This will be a long and potentially very difficult road for the families," said one of them, Darragh Mackin.
"For six years and nine months they have been in a very dark tunnel. This is the light for them; this inquest process is essential for them to get to the truth."
