Taoiseach Simon Harris is among the guests attending a commemoration for the Stardust fire victims this afternoon. 

The ceremony will take place at the Garden of Remembrance in County Dublin at noon. 

This commemoration, which has been co-designed with the families of the victims, will remember all those who died in the Stardust Fire. 

It will also honour those who have been affected by the disaster and those who helped victims and their families on the night and over the years since. 

Mr Harris will attend the event alongside President Michael D Higgins and newly appointed Lord Mayor of Dublin James Geoghegan. 

Mr Harris said he wants to honour victims and survivors two months after issuing a State apology to all Stardust victims. 

“Today, I'm determined that we take the next step together and we hold our first ever national commemoration for the Stardust victims, survivors and families,” he said. 

Stardust fire

Some 48 people died in the fire in the Stardust nightclub on February 14th, 1981. 

It took 42 years to secure an inquest into the tragedy after numerous calls were rejected by the State. 

On April 18th, the jurors returned a ruling of unlawful killing for all victims. 

The jury said the fire started in the hot press in the dispense bar and was due to an electrical fault. 

These were the longest inquests in the history of the State. 

Stardust survivors and campaigners outside the Dáil after a State apology from Taoiseach Simon Harris, 23-4-24. Image: Leah Farrell/© RollingNews.ie

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

During the ceremony, family members will lay wreaths in the cruciform pool and read out the names of the 48 people who lost their lives, along with extracts from the pen portraits. 

There will also be music from North Dublin Gospel Community Choir, Christy Moore, Mary Byrne and others.