Eamon Butterly loses High Court bid over unlawful killing verdict

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

Eamon Butterly’s High Court bid to block an unlawful killing verdict was refused by Mr Justice Tony O’Connor on 28 March 2024.

The challenge concerned the Stardust inquests into the deaths of 48 people in a fire at the nightclub in Dublin on 14 February 1981. The jury later found that all 48 had been unlawfully killed, without finding liability against any individual or company.

Butterly argued that a verdict could damage his reputation by associating him with blame. The judge refused leave for judicial review and a stay, finding no basis to conclude that the coroner had misdirected herself on whether a person could be identified.

The jury’s unlawful killing verdicts did not determine criminal or civil liability. The inquest process was concerned with the circumstances of the deaths.