Seán, who’s the son of the late Charles Haughey, mentioned he regretted his ‘fraught’ relationship with the Stardust households
The Dublin Bay North TD is the son of Charles Haughey, who was taoiseach when the tragedy occurred on February 13, 1981.
He admitted in his Dáil tackle that his relationship with the households of the victims was usually “fraught”, which he mentioned he regretted, and he mentioned he hoped the state apology would convey them “some closure”.
Reacting this night, Antoinette Keegan mentioned: “He shouldn’t have spoke. Numerous the households are aggravated about him talking. He shouldn’t have spoke. It wasn’t his place there as we speak.”
Ms Keegan mentioned the Haugheys had been related to “delay relatively than attending to the reality” and she or he felt Seán Haughey shouldn’t have mentioned something in any respect on the day of the supply of the state apology.
Ms Keegan’s sisters Mary and Martina each died within the Stardust fireplace.
“As a result of his father interfered in our judicial rights. I do know it’s nothing to do with Seán nevertheless it brought on us quite a lot of ache,” she advised RTÉ Information.
Mr Haughey was among the many audio system who addressed the Dáil, following Taoiseach Simon Harris’ highly effective state apology to the households.
Mr Haughey was a TD from 1992 to 2011 and was elected once more in 2016 and 2020. He was beforehand a member of Dublin Metropolis Council for the Artane native electoral space, the place the Stardust nightclub was situated.
“I used to be joyful to work with the Stardust victims’ committee, notably with the late Christine Keegan, who was a beautiful lady,” he mentioned.
“They actively pursued quite a few points, together with varied planning functions in respect of the Butterly enterprise park and the supply of a Stardust memorial park in Bonnybrook.”
Mr Haughey mentioned the Keane Tribunal’s discovering of possible arson in 1982 was “extremely insensitive and really mistaken” and he hoped the State apology introduced “some closure” to the households of the victims.
“I genuinely imagine that I constantly adopted up any points the committee requested me to do,” he advised the Dáil.
“I raised varied issues within the Dáil, I wrote to the related ministers as requested, but when I’m sincere although, this was not sufficient.
“I additionally admit that my relations with the committee have been at instances fraught and I do remorse that. I admit too that when Pat McCarten issued his findings in 2017 to the impact that no new inquiry was warranted, I couldn’t see how the case may very well be superior additional.
“So the choice to hunt a brand new inquest was an impressed one and I’m in awe of the persistence of the households at that darkish time to proceed the battle and so they did so with dedication and nice dignity.
“Right this moment, the households have gotten the lengthy overdue state apology. That the State failed them is clearly evident and so they have each proper to be offended about what occurred.”
Charles Haughey had ties to Patrick Butterly, the proprietor of the Stardust nightclub. His son Eamon Butterly was the supervisor of the nightclub when the tragedy occurred.
Within the late Nineteen Sixties, then taoiseach Jack Lynch invited Patrick Butterly to hitch Fianna Fáil’s fundraising arm Taca.
Patrick Butterly wrote in his memoir: “We have been all Fianna Fáilers”.
Amongst these to talk within the Dáil as we speak was Sinn Féin TD for Dublin Bay North Denise Mitchell, who remembered studying of the tragedy on the information and telling her father, who was involved his nieces and nephews may have been within the Stardust that evening and caught up within the fireplace.
She learn out the identify of every of the 48 victims and spoke about their lives.
The Dáil additionally heard from Inexperienced Get together chief Eamon Ryan and Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien who spoke about their very own reminiscences of the Stardust fireplace as Dublin natives.