Comment
New enquiry needed into Stardust fire
TO many people an incident which happened more than 25 years ago is perhaps
best consigned to the annals of history — something in the dim and
distant past which fails to intrude on our day-to-day lives.
But for those who lost their loved ones in Ireland’s tragic Stardust
blaze all those years ago the events of that night continue to haunt them.
And what haunts them more than anything is the fact that over a quarter-of-a-century
on the cause of the fire which claimed the lives of 48 young people in
one of the biggest disasters the country has ever seen is still in doubt.
Which is why their calls for a new inquiry into the horrific events of
that night should be heeded.
No-one doubts the original inquiry chaired by the eminent Mr Justice Keane
was anything other than thorough.
It noted the more probable explanation of the fire was that it was caused
deliberately but also concluded the exact cause of blaze could not be
reliably ascertained and may never be known.
There was no evidence of an accidental origin and equally no evidence
that the fire was started deliberately.
But in the intervening years investigative techniques have moved forward
considerably — and a growing body of opinion has formed that a new
inquiry may be able to use current expertise to come to a more definitive
conclusion.
Experts in the field now argue the original inquiry held in 1981 may have
been led astray by inaccurate information.
Three fire experts who appeared on RTÉ’s Prime Time TV programme
have also queried the conclusions reached by the tribunal of inquiry into
the disaster. The families of the Stardust victims are now insisting the
existing evidence be re-examined in the light of these arguments.
Whether a different conclusion would be reached by a new inquiry is impossible
to say. But the argument that one should be held is now impossible to
ignore.
Making a stand against Euro-trash
The choice of Dervish to represent Ireland at next year’s Eurovision
Song Contest has raised a few eyebrows.
After all — what chance do an acclaimed bunch of traditional Irish
musicians have in a contest increasingly dominated by bizarre novelty
acts?
Surely most people now believe the days of good songs and decent musicianship
actually taking the Eurovision title are merely a dim and distant memory
peopled by the likes of Abba?
But perhaps, just perhaps, Ireland has got it right. Instead of choosing
some middle-of-the-road performer calculated to appeal to the broadest
possible tastes they’ve actually gone for a group who truly represent
Ireland and its culture — a band who will actually say something
about the country they come from.
OK they might not win (and, frankly, do we care that much anyway?) but
at least they’ll be recognisably Irish. And the chances are they’ll
be playing a song that we’ll all still be able to remember a good
while after they’ve left the stage.
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