The Stardust 48: Who were the young people who died in the nightclub fire of February 1981?

Michael Barrett (17) from Raheny, Dublin

The apprentice plumber was working in Stardust on the night of the fire, as he was an assistant DJ with his friend Colm O’Brien.

Michael’s mother Gertrude told the inquest he was a popular young man who enjoyed football and pop music. He had a “wicked sense of humour and loved cracking jokes and playing pranks”.

Stardust victims remembered - They never came home

Richard Bennett (17) from Coolock, Dublin

Richard was the eldest of four, described as a "father figure” to his siblings.

He loved horses and was excited for a dance competition at the nightclub that night. Initially he wasn’t let in because of a lack of a tie, but the inquest heard someone handed him one at the door which allowed him access.

Singer Christy Moore previously spoke on behalf of his family, saying said they were “still searching for answers” after 40 years.

Carol Bissett (18) from Ringsend, Dublin

The second eldest of five children, she was active in the school choir and the Girl Guides.

A poignant poem by her sister Liz was read to the inquest including the line: “My memories then are filled with Mam and minding her as best I can, To stop her crying over the child she lost, I had to help her bear her cross.”

James Buckley (23) from Donnycarney, Dublin

“Everyone who met him and knew him loved him,” the inquest heard. “He was funny and witty and the life and soul of every party. Everyone loved his company.”

He was passionate about hurling, loved to go to Croke Park and had recently won a competition for his impression of Elvis.

His brother Errol recalled how it was Jimmy’s daughter’s first birthday on February 13, 1981. Errol had won a dance competition on the night of the fire at Stardust and Jimmy had gone back inside to look for him.

Paula Byrne (19) from Coolock, Dublin

Paula’s siblings said she was “very much a people person. She loved her friends and family and was loyal and devoted to both”.

She loved fashion, dancing and drawing, and her schoolbooks would be full of doodles. They said one word that summed up Paula would be “kindness”.

Caroline Carey (17) from Coolock, Dublin

The talented Irish dancer was also a member of her parish choir. After school she sat an exam for a position with Dublin Corporation, then worked in the Dangerous Buildings section, “she settled in well and was very happy in her new position”.

Three weeks before Caroline’s death, she revealed to her family that she was expecting a baby.

Her sister Maria recalled: “Forty years ago, teenage pregnancy was a taboo subject. My parents were devastated at the news but put their arms around her and assured her everything would be fine.”

John Colgan (21) from Swords, Co Dublin

His sister Susan Behan said Johnny’s favourite song was Lovely Day by Bill Withers and it summed up his outlook on life. “He was always upbeat, looking forward to every day,” she said.

He was involved in his father’s painting and decorating business and loved playing the guitar. Susan said he also “loved playing football, he loved a pint with the lads, he loved a dance and was always up for the craic”. He was looking forward to becoming an uncle, as Susan was pregnant when he died.

Jacqueline Croker (19) Kilmore West, Dublin

Jackie loved listening to records by Dolly Parton, Johnny Logan, John Lennon and Diana Ross on her portable red record player and often treated her siblings to an LP using her wages on a Friday.

The eldest child in the family, her parents lost two other children, who died as infants.

Jackie worked from the age of 15 including at Roches Stores to help out the family financially. Her sister Alison Keane recalled the night of the fire, saying: “My sister Jackie just went out to play darts and then decided to go to the Stardust to see how Paula was doing with the rest of her friends and she died.”

Liam Dunne (18) Coolock, Dublin

Liam was training to be a butcher, a role “which he loved”. His sister Siobhán Kearney described how they both loved buying records. The last one they ever bought together was Rainbow’s Since You’ve Been Gone.

Liam was hospitalised following the fire and Siobhán described the upset of seeing him in the Mater, as well as knowing that so many of their friends were there. He died on March 11 that year. His sister said: “I died also. I was 16 and the pain of that sadness has never left me.”

Michael Farrell (26) from Coolock, Dublin

Michael was dapper and looked after his appearance. He had a job at Cadbury, he “loved pay day” and would give his mother what he called her “wages” and then treat himself to clothes or sometimes aftershave. His hobbies included horse racing, pitch and putt and dancing. He was a fan of Bruce Lee and The Bee Gees.

Michael was going out with Thelma Frazer who was also killed in the Stardust fire. A tribute to Michael was read to the inquest by his niece Lynn Sheppard on behalf of his sister Monica D’Arcy who died in 2002.

David Flood (18) from Beaumont, Dublin

His nephew Ciarán recalled that David as a “bit of a rocker, mad into The Rolling Stones”.

He added: “This was reflected in his love for playing the guitar, his sense of style and the Jagger swagger about him. He enjoyed going out for a drink and a game of darts, which he often played with his brother."

Ciarán noted that his own parents were supposed to go to Stardust that evening too, but they ended up not going. “I inherited Dave’s records and, as I listened to them, I wished that I had gotten to know my uncle before his life was cut short.”

Thelma Frazer (20) Sandymount, Dublin

Thelma died alongside her boyfriend Michael Farrell. She had studied business and communications at Ballsbridge Business College, where she “excelled” and was “recommended to the Irish Productivity Centre just across the road”, according to her brother Maurice.

She loved sport as well as music and dancing. Her sister Barbara said: “A few months before Thelma was killed, she won some money and she went straight out and bought presents for us younger children… Mine was a little Fisher Price record player.”

Michael Ffrench (19) from Coolock, Dublin

“Michael was a legend. He was our big brother and our rock,” said his family in their tribute to the young man nicknamed “Horsey”.

He worked long hours as an auto engineer, was a music fan and generous with the wages he earned. The family suffered an agonising 25-year wait for DNA confirmation that Michael had died in the Stardust fire.

Josephine Glen (16) from Coolock, Dublin

The inquest heard how Jo, as she was affectionately known, went to work at 14 years old, as soon as she left school, and contributed the majority of her wages to the household, to help her mother, a single mother of four.

She was her mother’s “right hand" – helping to prepare dinner and mind her siblings. Jo was hospitalised after suffering smoke inhalation and her sister Sheena recalled their mother praying and “pleading with God not to take her from us”.

Her life support machine was switched off on February 19, 1981.

Michael Griffiths (17) Kilmore, Dublin

Michael was a huge fan of music, loved Elvis, and football, supporting Tottenham Hotspur. He was the eldest of five siblings.

His brother Paul said: “He was someone you could rely on and look up to. He loved family occasions like birthdays, and when younger would always be first to drag us out of bed on Christmas morning to get the day started.”

Robert Hillock (20) from Twinbrook, Belfast

One of the few victims not originally from Dublin, Bobby grew up in Belfast and lived at home with his mother and older brother Bill who has since died.

He started working a paper round at 13, and loved football and boxing. He had gone to Dublin to work on a building site.

Brian Hobbs (21) from Whitehall, Dublin

Brian was the youngest of seven children, and after school he went to Rockwell Hotel and Catering college in Co Tipperary.

He went on to win a gold medal when he represented Ireland in his catering section on “Wine Waiting”.

Brian worked in Zurich for a year before taking a job in Sachs Hotel in Dublin. His sister Pat recalled he was supposed to be working the night of the fire but his “boss relented at the last minute”. The family only found out later that he had gotten a taxi to the nightclub.

Eugene Hogan (24) from Artane, Dublin

One of nine children, “Eugene hated his name and changed it to Hughie,” according to his family. He and his brother Declan “would pick fruit in the summers for spending money or play soccer with friends in the field at the bottom of the road”.

The two became skilled carpenters as adults. He was married and had two children, and his young family had been due to move to Kerry on February 15.

Murtagh Kavanagh (27) from Coolock, Dublin

Known as “Murty”, and acting as his widowed father’s carer, Murtagh enjoyed cooking, fishing and music.

He was a heating insulator and travelled around the country for work. He was a fan of the Dublin football team and Manchester United. He loved music, especially Bob Dylan and Neil Young.

His sister, Terry Jones, described how the family initially assumed he was staying overnight at a friend’s house on the night of the fire.

Martina Keegan (16) Coolock, Dublin

Both Martina and her sister Mary were killed in the blaze along with her friend Mary Kenny and boyfriend David Morton.

Martina had various jobs including at a hotel and in Superquinn. Her sister Lorraine Keegan said she was a “real-life lookalike of Marilyn Monroe” and everyone assumed she would become a model. She had brought a Valentine’s card for David to the nightclub with her.

Mary Keegan (19) from Coolock, Dublin

Mary was the eldest of five children and according to her brother Damien, “she was not only our big sister, but she was also a best friend to us all and would keep our secrets of mischief”.

She had done well in her Leaving Cert in 1979 and was working as a receptionist at RTV Rentals, at the Northside Shopping Centre in Coolock.

At the weekends she loved spending time at a mobile home in Rush, Co Dublin, with her friends.

Robert Kelly (17) from Raheny, Dublin

A huge music fan who embraced bands from the Bay City Rollers to the Sex Pistols and Blondie.

His hobby of embroidery helped him decorate his favourite Wrangler jacket.

He and his brother Eugene worked on ships and Robert was due to be working the week of the fire.

However, the ship went into dry dock, allowing him to visit Stardust on the night of the tragedy. Eugene’s daughter Mandy recalled: “Robert was the youngest and I’ve been told the apple of his mother’s eye.”

Marie Kennedy (17) from Kilbarrack, Dublin

Marie was born a week before Christmas and her family’s tradition of putting up the decorations on her birthday is still upheld.

She loved music, from Irish dancing to disco. She had a love of fashion and worked at tailoring while she went to secretarial college.

Marie was the oldest of six and her sister Michelle said she was “our best pal but we knew she wasn’t to be trifled with”.

Mary Kenny (19) from Coolock, Dublin

Mary was popular at school, having attended St Maria Goretti Primary School and Coláiste Dhúlaigh Technical School in Coolock.

Her first job was working as a receptionist in Briggs & McCrae in Dublin.

Her youngest sister Angela recalled: “Mary didn’t drink or smoke; her passions in life were dancing and fashion and she would look forward to going to the Stardust nightclub on a Friday night just to dance all night with her friends.”

Margaret Kiernan (19) from Coolock, Dublin

Her older brother James remembered how Margaret “had a vast number of friends. Many of them through her love of sports and socialising”. She had recently started working a job in Butterly Park and enjoyed travelling to Glasgow where she had friends.

He said: “Like most young girls, she dreamed of just being happy, getting married and having children.”

Sandra Lawless (18) from Coolock, Dublin

Sandra’s youngest brother Brendan said Sandra “loved being out and about, was a group leader in the Girl Guides and was a member of a swimming club. She didn’t really drink and smoke, loved outdoor activities and the outdoor life”.

She did most of the organising for her sister Valerie’s wedding, just seven months before the Stardust disaster. “What I remember most about Sandra is her kind heart. She helped my mother look after us younger children… and always with a smile on her face.”

Francis Lawlor (25) from Finglas, Dublin

Francis and his wife Maureen had gone out for a few drinks to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Their deaths meant that their baby daughter Lisa Lawlor was orphaned.

She said: “I have no memories whatsoever of my two parents, other than the pain, loss, and complete and utter devastation. I grew up in the shadow of this disaster.”

Francis was the eldest of 12 children and loved motorbikes and cars. He joined the Army at age 21 and was described as clever and universally popular. “He spent a lot of money on clothes and often went out and about wearing a full, three-piece, pin-striped suit, with his hair carefully combed and worn in the latest style,” said Lisa.

Maureen Lawlor (23) from Finglas, Dublin

Francis’s wife Maureen grew up in Cabra, and left school after the Inter Cert exam to work in a butcher’s shop on Dorset Street.

“Maureen was pretty: petite and slender with rosy cheeks, a fashionable blonde perm, and blue eyes. All the boys liked her,” said her daughter Lisa.

Lisa added: “Maureen shared the interest my father, Francis, had in clothes. They fell in love very quickly and got married when Francis was 19 and Maureen was 17.

“My family would tell me that I was the light of my parents’ life and that they were totally smitten with their baby girl. The only wonder was that they went out that night at all because they never liked to leave me.”

Paula Lewis (19) from Coolock, Dublin

Music fan Paula was described by her brother John as “a good girl, a kind girl. The type of girl that handed up her wages to Mum if Mum was stuck”.

She loved reading Mills & Boon novels and was excitedly planning a holiday to Malaga. Her friend Sandra Lawless also died in the blaze.

Eamonn Loughman (19) from Beaumont, Dublin

The Loughman family had to endure multiple tragedies. Eamonn’s baby sister Niamh suffered cot death in 1968, leaving the family devastated. In 1974 Eamonn’s brother John died. He was playing basketball with his brothers and their friends when he collapsed.

Eamonn loved cars and stock racing at Santry. His brother Eoin said: “He used to drive up to Cólaiste Dhúlaigh to collect me from school and I would jump into the front seat and he would show off and do a bit of a wheel spin, driving out just to make a noise and we both would love the attention from everyone.”

His cousin Maureen James recalled his “deep laugh and the fact that he sang the same note over no matter what the actual tune was”.

George McDermott (18) from Raheny, Dublin

One of three siblings to die at Stardust, "Georgie” was a music lover, a joker, and a Tottenham Hotspur fanatic, according to his eldest sister June McDermott.

He loved a game of cards in the Cock Tavern in Howth and his sister recalled the time he buried his shoes at Dollymount and forgot where he put them. “When we think of what George would be like now, he would have been 58 and probably running Paddy Power. A family of his own and heading across the sea to see Spurs playing a match and meeting up with family and friends for a few beers,” she said.

Marcella McDermott (16) from Raheny, Dublin

Her sister Selina said “happy, singing and dancing” were three words to sum up Marcella, the sixth of eight children.

She loved spending time with younger relatives, as well as shopping in the Dandelion Market. After school she took jobs in Lawco clothing manufacturers and then Dunnes Stores on Talbot Street.

She used to bring treats home, the last being a cream cake for her mother. Her father was a fireman, who was off duty on the night of the blaze. “This haunted him for the short years he had left in his life,” the inquest heard.

William McDermott (22) from Raheny, Dublin

One of three McDermott siblings who died, Willie was described at the inquest by his sister Louise as the “big brother who protected us all".

At the weekend he loved going for a beer and a game of pool, “blaring his music in the parlour before heading out to Hill 16”.

Louise added: “I remember myself and my sister gathering up the Valentine’s cards that were delivered to the house and most of them were for Willie. Sadly, he would never get to see them or know how much he was admired.”

Julie McDonnell (20) from Coolock, Dublin

Football-mad Julie coached a local team when she was not working in Portion Foods.

Her sister Paula won a dancing competition at Stardust on the night of the fire, and her siblings were there to cheer her on.

When fire broke out, Julie went back inside to try and find her sister. Julie’s 21st birthday was planned for the following weekend. The inquest heard “she had it all organised and paid for”.

Teresa McDonnell (16) from Coolock, Dublin

Teresa was an animal lover who embraced life, friendship and fun. She attended St Mary’s Secondary School in Killester but although bright, preferred the social aspect to the academic.

Her sister Lorraine was also at the nightclub when the fire broke out and recalls Teresa telling her to get out. She described “pandemonium and chaos” as friends later realised they could not find Teresa. “Her last words to me are engraved onto my mind – ‘Lorraine. Get out, there’s a fire’. The last memory I have of my little sister is her putting me before her own safety.”

Gerard McGrath (21) from Coolock, Dublin

An independent young man who, according to his sister Liz McKeon, was only home “when he needed to eat or sleep”. He loved wildlife and had an “encyclopaedic knowledge of garden birds”.

He had saved up for his own car and Honda 50, loved fashion and clothes, and he had a prodigious record collection: “Mud, Sweet, Gilbert O’Sullivan, Bay City Rollers and selection of Irish ballads."

Caroline McHugh (17) from Artane, Dublin

An only child, she was educated at Loreto College on St Stephen’s Green. She was an avid reader, a fan of Enid Blyton books and romantic novels. She was a member of the choir, was an Irish dancer and loved swimming.

Caroline was also a member of a local CB club and was known as “slimlineS. She worked with a large building services contractor, in the estimating department. Her parents Maurice and Phyllis said her excellence in mathematics was of great benefit and it would have been the start of her career. Caroline was invited to a wedding in England the weekend of the Stardust fire, but she wanted to stay in Dublin and attend the dance competition with friends.

Donna Mahon (17) from Raheny, Dublin

Working as a supervisor at Derek Durken’s newsagent, Donna had already made plans to go to Santa Ponsa to celebrate her 18th birthday.

On the night of the tragedy, she had been in a venue known as the Apartment but then took a taxi to Stardust to join her sister Bernie who had been excited for the dance competition. She had not been there long when the fire broke out. Her sister was carried out unconscious and in a critical condition.

Helena Mangan (22) from Coolock, Dublin

She loved Christmas, red carnations, and Rod Stewart music. Helena was also a great seamstress and loved baking. She had one foreign holiday in her life, to Benidorm, but was hoping for many more.

Her daughter Samantha was only four years old when Helena died. Samantha said: “My family was left broken, devastated and destroyed. My family were left so broken that they could barely mention her name.”

James Millar (21) from Twinbrook, Belfast

Jim had left the North amid the Troubles and travelled the world with the Merchant Navy before deciding to settle down in Dublin. He was engaged to be married.

His sister Laura described how she had been invited down to Dublin on the weekend of the fire, but ended up not going.

They didn’t even know Jim had been at the Stardust until his father got a phone call from the police on Saturday night.

Susan Morgan (19) from Derry

Yvonne Graham told the inquest how she and Susie were part of a group of girls who moved from Derry to Dublin to work in the Nazareth House care home on the Malahide Road.

She said their lives in the capital were a “massive contrast” to Derry as they left a place in conflict and arrived in a city “buzzing with life and freedom”.

Raised by her grandmother, Susan loved football, playing on the A-team for Shantallow Football Club in her native Derry. She also loved playing practical jokes on her friends.

David Morton (19) from Artane, Dublin

His brother Alan recalled that David was nicknamed “Chesty”, apparently because he didn’t like to muddy his hair with a header when playing football.

He attended St David’s CBS but was keen to leave school and get a job. He got on a management training course with Superquinn and dreamed of spending his earnings on a sun holiday in Spain with friends.

Kathleen Muldoon (19) from Kells, Co Meath

The eldest of 10 children, Kathleen would help with the cooking, cleaning, and her siblings’ homework. She was finding her independence and owned her own car at the time of the Stardust tragedy.

Kathleen wanted to go into nursing, which led her to Dublin. Her brother Hugh said: “Looking after and caring for people is something she loved.”

George O'Connor (17) from Coolock, Dublin

George was quiet and reserved. His sister Donna said: “He was a huge science-fiction fan and was always drawing, trying to replicate the spaceships from the comics and films of Star Wars, Star Trek, War of the Worlds.”

He took his Leaving Cert in St Joseph’s CBS in Fairview and got a part-time job in the St Lawrence Hotel in Howth.

Later he worked in the local Superquinn and made friends there, who encouraged him to socialise more. His sister said: “Sadly, the first dance he ever went to was also to be his last.”

Brendan O'Meara (23) from Coolock, Dublin

Described as an “international standard” Irish dancer, Brendan was also on darts and football teams with his brothers.

He was usually “spotlessly groomed and wore the best clobber”.

His brother Jimmy said he didn’t go to the nightclub with his brother because he was exhausted from working since 4.30am that morning.

“I felt survivor’s guilt. You blame yourself. We would have escaped together if I’d been there,” he said.

John Stout (18) from Coolock, Dublin

John was the third child in a large family which had 11 surviving children. He liked snooker and loved Elvis.

He went to the Stardust with his girlfriend, Helena Mangan, who was also killed in the fire.

His niece, Alison Forrester, said: “He would have been a painter-decorator with a career and a life of his own, but John never got to see and experience his adulthood.”

Margaret Thornton (19) from Dublin 8

Margaret was the baby of the family, but her mother had to work three jobs as her father had been killed by a hit-and-run driver when she was just two years old.

After primary school, Margaret went to Parnell Institute of Tailoring and Textiles and later worked in various sewing factories.

Her sister, Patricia Greene, said: “She loved her music and concerts, going out with her family and friends and doting on her nieces and nephew.

"She was enjoying her new-found independence, becoming a young woman and making plans and having dreams. She was planning to travel with her best friend Valerie to Amsterdam.”

Paul Wade (17) from Artane, Dublin

An outgoing teenager who made friends easily, he was one of five boys and a twin to Liam.

He’d wanted to leave school to get a job but his brother Tony remembers he “jacked in the job after two weeks because he missed hanging about with his friends. He hadn’t a clue what he wanted to do, he was that young”.

Tony went to the Stardust with Paul, who was on a date with Susan Morgan from Derry. Paul was among seven victims whose bodies were unidentified.