John Courtney found no evidence Stardust fire was malicious

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

Detective Superintendent John Courtney found no evidence the Stardust fire was started maliciously, according to evidence read at Dublin District Coroner’s Court on 11 December 2023. The fire broke out at the nightclub in Artane, Dublin.

Courtney oversaw the garda investigation after the fire and told the 1981 Keane Tribunal that investigators followed up statements about a possible deliberate cause. The inquest was told that 1,649 statements were taken and that no evidence indicated the fire was malicious.

Investigators interviewed people who had been in the curtained-off west alcove, where the fire was spotted, and found no evidence that they were involved. The court also heard that 841 people were in the club that night.