There has been emotional testimony at the Stardust inquests today with witnesses describing the unsuccessful attempts to break windows as screams could be heard from those who were trapped inside.
The proceedings, which began last April, have now moved into a new phase with the hearing of direct evidence from people who were there on the night and escaped.
Forty eight people died in the blaze in the early hours of Saturday 14 February 1981, when a fire swept through the club in Artane in Dublin. Over 100 more suffered injuries. There were around 800 patrons inside when the fire broke out.
Witness Joseph Cumiskey described how he tried to break the windows outside the front of building with a hammer in an effort to get people out but could not do so because of the bars across them. The court heard too about the screams coming from the toilets.
Through tearful testimony he said: "There was nothing I could have done."
At one point, as Mr Cumiskey became upset, coroner, Dr Myra Cullinane, said she acknowledged it was "very difficult" to recall the events of the night.
'Thick, black' smoke
Earlier Mr Cumiskey, who was 18 years old at the time of the fire, described how he first smelt smoke and how he thought initially that it was a prank, before seeing the flames. He said the smoke was "thick, black".
He told the court that he got out through emergency exit 1 and said he pushed the bar to open the doors. He said it was not impeded and that "it opened straight away". He also agreed that he did not know who had got to the doors first.
He also described how there were a lot of people behind him, rushing, "it was chaotic", he said.
He agreed with Joseph O Keefe, BL, representing families of the victims, that no one told him to get out and that he decided to leave on his own initiative.
The court also heard how, although the disco on the night was for over 21s, he, as an 18-year-old, had "no problem" getting in.
'Screams for help'
Eileen Rock also described the screams for help coming from the toilets and the attempts to smash the windows.
The court has earlier heard in these hearings how steel plates had been welded to the inside of the windows in the weeks before the fire. She told the court there were people pulling on the canopy, swinging on it, trying to kick in the window but to no avail.
She also described the scenes when the fire broke out and how people were jumping over tables. "It was sheer panic," she said. She told the court that she got out through exit 1 and that there were a lot of people behind her. "It was like a stampede," she said.
Another witness, John Finnegan, told the court how he and his friend had tried to force open exit 6 from the outside on the night in an effort to get into the club without paying.
He told the court that they managed to open the door with a bar around "ten inches" and said there was a lock and chain on the doors preventing them from opening it fully.
"We would have been in if it wasn't there," he said. He agreed with counsel for the families that this happened at around 11.45pm around two hours before the fire was first spotted.
The court also heard how Mr Finnegan was 17 at the time and had spent the earlier part of the evening drinking in the adjoining Silver Swan bar. He told the court that he had started drinking alcohol from the age of 15 and had never any difficulty getting served drink in the Stardust or Silver Swan.
Lorraine Marks was 16 years old at the time of the fire and was in the club on the night. She said she was not asked for identification on the way in.
The court heard how she escaped out of the main entrance, also known as exit 2. She described the screaming on the way out and holding onto people, not knowing whose hand she was holding because of the darkness. "You couldn’t breathe," she said.
The court also heard how she fell, due to the "pressure from people running" and was unable to get up until she was picked her up. She described how when she reached the doors, a fireman pulled her "by the scruff of the neck".
She said she remembers asking the fireman "is everybody out? Is everybody out?" and she was told they were.
