Sister of a Stardust fire victim backs Creeslough families desiring a memorial garden instead of a rebuilt service station.
Donegal Council approved a new service station, replacing one destroyed in Creeslough. The explosion killed ten in 2022 and families want a memorial instead.
Carole Barrett lost her brother in the Stardust fire, which killed forty-eight people in 1981. She urges officials to listen to families and says past errors should not repeat.
Dialogue and engagement are needed now. Everyone needs to be considered during planning. Memorials acknowledge those who died there, and lessons from the past must be learned.
Carole’s brother, seventeen, was the last identified Stardust victim; the average age was nineteen. She wanted a proper memorial which replaced a plaque in a cemetery.
The plaque only mentioned the Dublin Corporation. Carole felt it was cold and insulting, and Stardust families felt disrespected back then.
A new memorial, unveiled in 2019 at the club’s site, named all forty-eight victims and said, “They Never Came Home.” A memorial bench was added in 2022.
A wall dedication, called Stardust Victims’ Eternal Memorial, sits on the fire site. Donegal Council approved the service station plans, though families object to this plan.
Lawyers call it “unfathomable” and compare it to rebuilding Stardust. Some families want a memorial garden instead.
One mother wants only a memorial there: a peaceful place to remember. The application includes space for a garden, as well as a shop and off-licence.
Marie Ronaghan lost her sister in Creeslough and can’t believe they’ll rebuild the shop. A solicitor called the decision insensitive.
Ten people died in the Creeslough explosion. They include Robert Garwe, Shauna Flanagan Garwe, Catherine O’Donnell, and James Monaghan. James O’Flaherty, Jessica Gallagher, Martin McGill, Hugh Kelly, Martina Martin, and Leona Harper also died.