Courts / Dublin / Report

Daughter of Stardust victim says loss left her child trapped in woman's body

Date
2023-05-11

Stage
Hearing Or Decision

Primary locality
Dublin

County
Dublin

Summary

Samantha Mangan, daughter of Helena Mangan who perished in the 1981 Stardust nightclub fire, told the Dublin District Coroner's Court that losing her mother at age four and a half left her feeling like a child trapped in an adult body. She recounted pretending Helena was alive and had lost her memory, searching streets for her mother's name, and feeling her absence at school and in everyday life. Samantha described Helena as kind, caring, brave, and strong, with a dry sense of humour and a love of baking. She said she married on what would have been Helena's 50th birthday, hoping her mother would walk her down the aisle. Samantha expressed that reading the coroner's report in 2019, which mentioned missing parts of Helena's body, plunged her into a dark place and intensified her sense of injustice for Helena and the other victims. The inquest focused on the impact of the loss on Samantha's life and her ongoing grief.