The Taoiseach is hoping to meet with the families of the Stardust fire after a jury found the 48 victims were unlawfully killed.

The State is being called on to apologise to those affected by the 1981 disaster.

Alison Keane lost her older sister Jacqueline Croker in the Stardust fire.

"At 12.10am she went into the Stardust, two hours later she was gone," she said.

Yesterday was vindication for the 48 victims after a jury found they were unlawfully killed and the fire started because of an electrical fault in the hot press.

That is in sharp contrast to the original finding that the fire was 'probable arson' which was later struck out.

Supporters and family members of the 48 people killed gather in Dublin's Garden of Remembrance after the verdict of unlawful killing from the Stardust Inquest, 18-4-24. Image: Sasko Lazarov / © RollingNews.ie

Ms Keane says the families are owed an apology.

"For every one step forward we took we were knocked two steps back," she said.

"So I feel that the Irish State now needs to apologise to us for the way we've been treated."

Samantha Curran was just four-years-old when her mother Helena Mangan died in the fire. She says it should not have taken 43 years to get justice.

"I needed to do it for me so that I found out the truth and what happened that night, instead of listening to rumours that I've heard throughout the years," she said.

"It was not arson and she hadn't got a chance to get out," she added.

Daughter of Stardust fire victim Helena Mangan, Samantha Curran, outside the Stardust Inquest, 11-5-23. Image: Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie

Solicitor Darragh Mackin said the families’ grief was compounded by the insensitivity of the State’s response.

“In 1981 these young people - inhumanely identified by a number - were stripped of their integrity and their dignity,” he said.

“Stripped of their dignity by the very same State that had stripped them of their very basic human rights.

“What was the result? The result was the criminalisation of victims and patrons; the pain and suffering of these families was relentless," he added.

Taoiseach Simon Harris is hoping to meet with the relatives but the pressure is now on for him to offer an apology on behalf of the State.

In a statement yesterday, Mr Harris said the Stardust tragedy was “one of the darkest moments in our history” and the Government would “consider this verdict in full”.

Additional reporting: Jack Quann

Main image: Pictured outside the Stardust Inquest holding portraits of victims (left to right): Susan Behan with portrait of John Colgan (21); Alison Keane with portrait of Jacqueline Croker (18); and Siobhan Kearney with portrait of Liam Dunne (18), 17-4-23. Image: Sasko Lazarov / RollingNews.ie