The families of the 48 people who lost their lives in the Stardust night club fire in Dublin are set to hold a candle-lit vigil this Sunday, as they reveal that there is still no venue for the inquest amid concerns over jury selection and payment.
The fatal fire took place at the Artane nightclub in the early hours of Valentine's Day in 1981, claiming 48 lives and leaving hundreds injured.
Antoinette Keegan, who lost her sisters Mary, 19, and Martina, 16, told Dublin Live that the lack of clarity over a venue is "an insult to the 48 lives lost" and their families.
Last month, the Stardust families staged a number of protests outside the Department of Justice over delays into opening the long-awaited inquest.
Speaking to Dublin Live this week, Antoinette Keegan confirmed that the families are set to go to a preliminary hearing at the RDS on Wednesday.
She said: "We are heading over to the RDS tomorrow at 2pm for a preliminary hearing, the Department has said that the inquest is to open next month on March 1 even though there is still no venue.
"There are still a lot of obstacles facing us; 1. The lack of venue, 2. The jury selection and 3. The fact that no-one is going to sit on a jury for three or four months without getting paid.
"We are also having a candle-lit vigil this Sunday at 11.30am at the site of the fire then at 1pm a candle-lit vigil opposite Artane Park.
"Christy Moore is going to be there and so is Charlie Bird. Everyone is welcome to come down to join us on Sunday to remember the 48."
Antoinette said that the families have sent a letter to to the Minister of Justice Helen McEntee calling on the government to intervene.
She said: "We're going through a really bad time of it at the moment, we still have no venue and the 40th anniversary is on Monday.
"The jury should be getting paid because people need an income and the cost of living is now very high."
The families have also launched a new petition to get the Department of Justice to pay the jury for the Stardust inquest.
The letter to the Minister from the families notes it is "wholly unsatisfactory and indeed unrealistic" to expect any juror to serve where they would not be reimbursed for their wages and time.
The letter noted it was "not fair" to ask people to serve in excess of six months without getting paid.
The legal teams for the families have suggested that Helen McEntee craft "a one-line bill" that could allow for the Juries Act to be extended to the Stardust Inquest to allow for wages to be covered by a jury.
The families also ask the Minister that she allow for the Coroner to have access to the electoral register in order for the Coroner herself to pick the jury.
The new inquest into the fire tragedy has been mired in controversy and delays since its inception due to ongoing rows over funding.
Data released under a freedom of information request in September stated that the Department of Justice has spent €1.5m of the €8m allocated in total on the inquest, without one official inquest being heard.
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