Eamon Butterly agrees exits were chaotic at Stardust inquest

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Former Stardust manager Eamon Butterly agreed that accounts of people struggling to leave the nightclub during the 1981 fire were “completely chaotic” at the Dublin District Coroners Court on 22 September 2023.

Questioned about the main entrance, known as exit two, and other exits, Butterly accepted counsel’s description of the accounts. He said doors would open if chains were draped across them to give the impression they were locked. Asked if they ever opened the doors when the chains were in that position, he said he did not recall.

The inquests concern the deaths of 48 people in the Stardust fire. Butterly also said he had not known of the laws governing what staff should do in the event of a fire.