Deputy Broughan has today expressed his disappointment with Judge Pat McCartan’s decision not to recommend a Commission of Investigation into the Stardust Tragedy of 1981. In January of this year, Deputy Broughan brought a motion to Dáil Éireann calling for the establishment a new Commission of Investigation into the inferno which took 48 young lives on St. Valentine’s Night almost 37 years ago. Deputy Broughan’s motion was supported by Independents4Change, People Before Profit, Solidarity, Sinn Féin, the Labour Party, the Social Democrats and other left Independents. Minister of State Finian McGrath, despite supporting the Stardust Relatives and Victims’ Committee during his political career, turned his back on the families who lost loved ones and instead supported the Government’s amendment to the motion which led to Judge McCartan reviewing evidence and making his recent recommendation that no new Commission is needed.
Deputy Broughan says “I am very disappointed to see that Judge McCartan has not recommended a new Commission of Investigation into the tragedy that has changed the history of our constituency since that fateful night in 1981. Had Finian McGrath supported my motion in January, the Stardust Relatives and Victims’ Committee would have had the opportunity for closure but instead they were subjected to a Coffey Part 2 type examination. I feel very sad for Antoinette Keegan and those other families who have fought so hard for justice for their loved ones. I have always hoped that we would have justice similar to what recently happened with the Hillsborough Disaster in Liverpool. Seeking justice for the relatives and victims of the Stardust disaster still remains unfinished business. It is a sad day for the constituency.”
