More than 800 people were attending a disco there, of whom 48 died and 214 were injured as a result of the fire; in later years suicides of survivors and family members were also linked to the event.

The escape of the disco attendees was hampered by chains and padlocks on multiple exits, by barred windows, and further by failure of the lighting system.

A small part of the building including most of the front elevation remains to this day but the remnants of the nightclub section have since been demolished.

Due to the arson finding, and despite criticism of safety points, the owners of the building claimed and received public compensation, and were not liable to civil action from the families of the deceased, and survivors.

In 2024 the Dublin District Coroners Court found, in a majority verdict, that all 48 people died as a result of unlawful killing.

[2] There were 841 patrons gathered in the nightclub for the St Valentines eve disco event, and the owners had been given a Special Exemption Order to serve alcohol between 11 pm and 2 am.

This non-planning-permission-compliant first-floor storage room contained dangerously flammable materials, including 45 five-gallon (23 litre) drums of cooking oil.

The incident was first noticed by a patron seated in front of the West Alcove, who observed a rise in temperature but did not detect any smoke.

Of the five emergency exit doors, most were either locked by padlock or chains or blocked by tables or vehicles outside in order to prevent individuals sneaking in.

The windows were sealed with metal grilles and steel plates, which were unable to be removed by sledgehammers, axes, and even tow-ropes from individuals outside attempting to help.

The failure of the lighting in the club led to widespread panic, causing mass trampling as many of the patrons instinctively ran for the main entrance.

A young man named Peter O'Toole made a phone call to the Gardaí at Dublin Castle at 1:42 am to report a handbag theft.

CIÉ also sent buses to transport the injured, and local radio stations asked people in the vicinity with cars to come to the club.

[8] The fatalities included 48 people in total; 46 in the fire and two later on, with the last recorded death occurring on 11 March 1981, and 214 injured.

Following its publication, the Dáil voted on the evening of 3 February 2009 to acknowledge that the arson finding was hypothetical and that none of those present at the Stardust nightclub can be held responsible for the blaze.

This led to a correction of the public record and the original arson conclusion was removed as the cause, due to there being no evidence to suggest that the fire was started maliciously.

[14] In June 2018, a campaign was launched to gather signatures on postcards supporting an appeal to the Attorney General of Ireland to finalise the coroner's reports on the deaths of the 48 killed in the fire.

The protests lasted for 10 weeks and ended when the Butterly family agreed to erect a memorial on the site, and change the name of the pub from "The Silver Swan" to the "Artane House".

[22] On 13 February 2011, there was an afternoon Mass at Saint Joseph's Church in Coolock and a wreath was placed at the Stardust Memorial Park.

In July 1985, Irish folk singer Christy Moore was found guilty of contempt of court after writing and releasing a song, titled "They Never Came Home", about the plight of the victims, seemingly damning the owners of the nightclub and the government.

Mr Justice Murphy ordered the Ordinary Man album to be withdrawn from the shops, and costs were awarded against Moore.

[24][25] In 2006, Ireland's national broadcaster, Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), caused controversy by producing a docu-drama about the disaster entitled Stardust, to mark the 25th anniversary of the incident.

Reasons for objection included the depiction of the fire and a perceived focus on some key families, which some felt portrayed the disaster as only impacting a select few.

[26] An edition of Prime Time, RTÉ's current affairs programme, broadcast on 14 February 2006, cast doubts on some of the findings of the original tribunal.

[citation needed] The plan of the building, which the tribunal used and which was critical to its findings, was shown to be confusingly flawed by locating the storeroom on the wrong level.

[29] The documentary, titled Remembering Stardust: 30 Years On, reflected on the events of the night of the fire, the aftermath and the various controversies and legal proceedings that followed.

[citation needed] In December 2017, RTÉ broadcast a one-hour episode of a TV series where survivors of the fire and relatives of some of the 48 people who died were interviewed by Charlie Bird.