Stardust jury cannot name unborn baby as 49th victim

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

A Stardust inquest jury in Dublin District Coroner’s Court was told on 8 April 2024 it could not determine an unborn baby as the fire’s 49th victim.

Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane said the inquests covered the 48 people who died in the fire at the Stardust nightclub in Artane on 14 February 1981. The jury could record that one deceased person was in the early stages of pregnancy on the individual questionnaire, but could not formally enlarge the victim count.

The jury was tasked with determining the identity, date and place of death and the circumstances of each death, and recording a verdict. Its possible verdicts included accidental death, death by misadventure, an open verdict, a narrative verdict or unlawful killing.