The long-awaited inquest into the Stardust nightclub tragedy has gotten underway at Dublin’s Rotunda Hospital.

Some 200 were injured and 48 people died when a fire broke out in the north Dublin nightclub during a Valentine’s Day disco in 1981.

In a first for Ireland, family members have been allowed to tell the Stardust inquest of their loved ones’ personalities, hopes and dreams - in what is known as a ‘pen portrait’.

The Stardust families. Image: Aoife Kearns

Survivor Antoinette Keegan, who lost two sisters in the tragedy, said the pen portraits meant a lot to the families.

"They were our loved ones," she said.

"They were our brothers and sisters, our sons, our daughters - and they meant something to us and today is a big thing for us.

"The world is going to hear who they were; they weren't just a number, they were a human being and they're going to listen to the pen portraits being read out by the family members - which is very important."

“If we’re not ready now we never will be.”

The opening of the #Stardust inquest marks an emotional day in the families’ fight for “truth and justice for our loved ones”. pic.twitter.com/AvxIFHz3J8

— NewstalkFM (@NewstalkFM) April 25, 2023

The first of the 48 families to speak was Gertrude Barrett, whose son Michael Barrett was 17 when he died.

An apprentice plumber, and the eldest of four siblings, Michael was the assistant DJ on the night.

His mother Gertrude told the inquest about her son’s infectious smile, wicked sense of humour and his love for music and Liverpool Football Club.

After his death, Gertrude said she spent four days in the city morgue waiting for her son to be identified.

She said the family will never get over losing Michael in such tragic circumstances and noted that his life ended before it even had a chance to begin.

Dublin District Senior Coroner Dr Myra Culinane then adjourned the sitting, which will recommence this afternoon.

Main image: Relatives of those who died in the Stardust tragedy.