Following deliberations lasting ten full days, the jury for the inquests into the Stardust fire fatalities have come to their conclusions. The verdicts are set to be announced Thursday at 2 pm in the coroner’s court in Dublin. The court has been held in the Pillar Room at the Rotunda hospital, and the jury of seven women and five men resumed deliberations after the coroner, Dr Myra Cullinane, stated she would allow a majority verdict.
Dr Cullinane notified the jurors that the delivery of the verdicts would be delayed to conclude administrative steps and afford families the opportunity to either attend in person or follow the proceedings online. The inquests, which have been underway since April of last year, concern the fire that tragically claimed the lives of 48 young individuals, aged between 16 and 27, at a nightclub in the northern part of Dublin on February 14th, 1981. It’s expected that some families will travel from places such as Donegal, Tipperary, and Belfast to hear the verdicts.
The jury was told not to discuss the verdicts with anyone, as this could result in contempt of court charges. Earlier on Wednesday, Dr Myra Cullinane questioned the jury on whether they could reach a unanimous verdict to which the foreman replied in the negative. Dr Cullinane therefore told them that she could accept a majority verdict according to the 1962 Coroner’s Act, provided it was agreed upon by at least seven jurors. She requested them to continue their deliberations and to alert the jury handler if they were able to reach a verdict that day.
Early Wednesday morning, the foreman had confirmed to Dr Cullinane their satisfaction with answers to questions previously raised on Tuesday, which pertained to the considerations they must make in reaching verdicts on the tragic deaths of these 48 young people in the 1981 nightclub disaster. However, they requested additional time stating that there were still issues needing to be resolved. The jury, established a year ago, has been contemplating over 90 days of testimonies from over 370 witnesses on the unfortunate Stardust fire incident.
Their responsibility includes determining the facts relating to the fire’s circumstances. This includes assessing whether elements like carpet tiles used as internal wall lining, polyurethane foam used in the seats, or the low ceiling height where the fire was initially identified inside the location, played a role in the fatalities. Moreover, they need to confirm the identity of each victim as well as the cause, date, and location of their deaths, and then provide a verdict for each case. There are five potential outcomes – accidental, misadventure, unlawful killing, open and narrative verdicts.
In her instructions to the jury last month, Dr Cullinane laid out a “two-stage test” for the evidence to determine an unlawful killing. It entails identifying a “failure” by an unnamed and unidentifiable individual or individuals. In her words, the jury must be convinced that a high degree of neglect occurred in observing necessary precautions to prevent significant harm to others and that such neglect substantially attributed to a death. Also, they must be confident ‘beyond a reasonable doubt.’
The two-stage test was the focus of three out of four questions raised by the jury on Tuesday.