Betty Bissett, an 83-year-old woman, has yet to convince herself that the State will officially acknowledge its failings for the damage inflicted on her and the families of the 47 others who perished due to the Stardust fire. This catastrophe occurred in a North Dublin nightclub during the early morning hours of Valentine’s Day, 1981. Currently, Bissett is anxious that the impending apology might be rescinded given the lengthy delay and prior broken vows.
The Prime Minister, Simon Harris, had a meeting with the affected families and survivors on the past Saturday. He is expected to publicly apologise on their behalf at the Dáil coming Tuesday at 2pm.
Ms Bissett now resides in a house in South Dublin’s Ringsend, where she relocated with her late spouse and four surviving offspring in 1982. Her previous dwelling, situated in Ringsend’s O’Rahilly House flats, is fondly remembered by Elizabeth, Carol’s younger sibling, to be a source of happiness as it was unmarred by the Stardust tragedy.
On February 13th, 1981, which marked the 18th birthday of Carol’s closest friend Catherine Moore, she along with another companion, Tina Brazil, decided to celebrate at the Stardust in Artane. Carol was discovered the next day in a critical condition at the Mater hospital. Ms Bissett laments on the opportunity she missed to express her love for her dying daughter due to the hospital’s restrictions.
Carol succumbed to her injuries on February 18th. Ms. Bissett was returned Carol’s coat and some of her jewellery stuffed inside a plastic bag. In April 2023, during the inquests, Ms Bissett shared her emotional account of her loss and the burden it posed on her family’s well-being. Unable to shoulder the responsibility of her three other children, she acknowledges her family’s support during this trying time.
Elizabeth recalled on Monday her childhood, plagued by memories of her mother’s constant tears. She felt an innate responsibility to ensure her mother’s well-being and hence kept her conversations about Carol to a minimum. The 1981 investigation panel’s verdict was that arson was the likely cause of the fire, a conclusion that Elizabeth Bissett disagreed with vehemently. She dismissed the ludicrous idea of her child igniting the venue, instead pointing at Mr [Eamon] Butterly [manager] for his penny-pinching actions of chaining doors.
Together with her partner, she attended numerous meetings with families, politicians and lawyers, but the prevailing sentiment was anger. Gracefully, she decided to step away from these gatherings as they became too emotionally charged. When queried about the Stardust victims’ reparation tribunal enacted in 1985, she articulates the cold and emotionless experience when they inquired about the cost to maintain Carol for a week.
Undeterred, she resumed her activism efforts whenever possible, but their cries for justice were largely ignored as they protested outside the Dáil each Valentine’s day for a string of years. In January 2009, alongside Gertrude Barrett, Christine Keegan and Antoinette Keegan, Elizabeth staged a sit-in outside the Government Buildings insisting on access to barrister Paul Coffey’s (currently a High Court judge) report. His suggestion to erase arson details from the public record got sanctioned subsequently by the Oireachtas.
There were more meetings, and most left her feeling desperate and disowned. Her disillusionment stemmed from multiple broken commitments leading to her distress over the trauma inflicted upon the families. She noted the strain on marriages, increasing incidences of suicide and alcohol abuse.
The ruling determined last week on all 48 victims as an illegal killing had been monumental; likewise, she recounted the overwhelming experience of meeting Taoiseach Simon Harris on Saturday and the impending official State apology on Tuesday. Having broken down and weeping for nearly two hours, she admitted her feelings of utter relief. The day ended with a trip to the cemetery, laying flowers for Carol. Elizabeth solemnly admitted, “It’s Carol’s time now.”
Ms Bissett expressed her confusion over the necessity of a criminal inquiry, notwithstanding Elizabeth’s argument that accountability must exist, regardless of imprisonment consequences. When questioned on the topic of compensation, Ms Bissett suggested that, while not averse to accepting it as a means to support her grandchildren, their original motive was not monetary, but purely to seek justice for their offspring. Now, her desire is for Mr Harris to extend an apology for the trauma suffered by Carol and all the children, and to acknowledge the damage they have endured. Questioning the possibility of such an apology, she ponders: “Could it be true?” The coming day will be the decider of this query’s authenticity.