The Stardust inquests have been told of the unsuccessful efforts made by a survivor to get a family friend to safety as the fire in the nightclub took hold.
Liam Hennessy, who was 31 at the time, was giving evidence today at the Dublin District Coroner's Court.
He told the jury that he had been socialising on the night when he said he saw 18-year-old David Flood asleep on a seat as the fire was noticed.
"I shook him and was trying to pull his legs along," Mr Hennessy said, later saying: "I ran down and shook him good … I don’t know if I woke him or not."
He described the screaming and a "stampede" at the main entrance and said he was trying to wake Mr Flood up to tell him to follow him out.
Mr Hennessy told the court how he then returned to Mr Flood to try wake him again.
"I shook him," he said and then said black fumes prevented him from seeing anything.
"There was nothing I could do," he told the court today.
He described grabbing Mr Flood's shoulders and then a fire ball coming through. "Then I let him go," he said.
He also told the court when he made it outside, he could not breathe and stuck his finger down his throat "to get rid of the smoke".
He told the court how he then went around the front to the main entrance to see if Mr Flood was coming out that way, but he never did.
Darragh Mackin, solicitor for the Flood family thanked Mr Hennessy for "all the efforts" he made to try save Mr Flood’s life.
'I'll never forget it'
The court also heard today from Peter Redmond who was 18-years-old when he attended the Artane club on the night in question.
He was asked if he remembers seeing the fire. "Yes," he said, ‘I’ll never forget it.’
Mr Redmond said one of the most vivid memories he has is seeing the carpet tiles on fire.
He said he always felt having them on the walls "wasn’t right".
Mr Redmond described the scene inside the club as the fire grew as "very loud" and chaotic.
He said people were running "left and right" and they did not know the best way to get out.
"It was like everyman for himself," Mr Redmond said.
He said the only way out he knew, was the way he came in, which was through the main entrance.
Mr Redmond told the court too of the delay in getting out the doors, and said he was struggling to breathe, adding "I wouldn’t have lasted much longer".
'Sheer panic'
Later, Kathleen Deeney, who was 21 at the time, told the inquests how she was knocked to the floor as she tried to make her escape.
She said when she fell, she knew she had to get back up.
"I must have stepped on people," she said.
She told the court that when the lights went out, there was "sheer panic".
People were screaming, "we were all panicking", she said. "It was awful."
The inquest heard how she first ended up in the cloakroom after being "pushed along" and described how black smoke was filling the area.
She then said somebody helped her and told the court she cannot remember how she ended up outside the building, saying her mind went blank.
She was asked what the atmosphere was like outside.
"Fear," she answered.
The court also heard from Noel Byrne who was 21 at the time of the fire. He told the inquests that there was complete darkness, and a barrage of people were trying to get out in panic.
He escaped through an office window, after people on the outside helped pull him to safety.
The court heard how he was a friend of 23-year-old Brendan O'Meara, one of the 48 victims.
Mr Byrne described last seeing him earlier in the night and said it was his understanding that Brendan O’Meara had initially made it to safety, before going back in to help others.
"Unfortunately he went in one time too much, he never got out," Noel Byrne told the court.
Earlier, David Bell told the inquests he was 18 at time of the 1981 fire and was described as a regular at the club.
He agreed with counsel Joe Brolly, who is representing families of the dead, that he thought initially the fire could be easily controlled, but then seconds later, "there was a mushroom of fire".
He also told the court that he had seen the main entrance doors locked at around 1.30am, ten minutes before the fire was first spotted.
There was also evidence today from Lorraine Brady who was 17 at the time of the disaster and had been going to the Stardust since she was 16.
She told the court she had no difficulty getting in.
She detailed how she escaped on the night and said that a "couple of minutes" after making it outside she turned back and saw the front doors of the main entrance were closed.
She told the court that she, along with others were shouting that there were still people inside and that the doors needed to be opened.
