Stardust: Ireland's deadly nightclub fire
Witness History

Stardust: Ireland's deadly nightclub fire

B2Upper-intermediateSeptember 16, 202610 min

In the early hours of 14 February 1981, a fire broke out at the Stardust nightclub in Artane, Dublin which was filled with more than 800 people. The blaze killed 48 people and injured 200. A tribunal in 1983 found the cause to be probable arson. This was rejected by many victims' families and survivors and the ruling was dismissed in 2009. Fresh inquests were granted in 2019. In April 2024, the jury returned a verdict of unlawful killing. The Irish prime minister made a state apology. Antoinette Keegan survived the fire but lost two sisters. She tells Jen Dale her memories...

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0:00

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. Hello, I'm Gendael, and this is with me, Hello, I'm Jen Dale, and this is Witness History from the BBC World Service. If you're a regular listener, feel free to skip ahead a little bit.

1:06

But if you're listening for the very first time, welcome! We're the podcast that takes you back to a moment in history by speaking to those who were there, and using amazing archive. If that sounds like something you'd listen to, hit subscribe wherever you get to your

1:20

BBC podcasts, and turn on your notifications so you never miss an episode. I'm taking you back 45 years to what's widely considered to be Ireland's deadliest fire. For these past few days Ireland has been united, united in its shock and its grief at an appalling loss of life, a loss of life made all the more tragic by the youthfulness of the people

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