'Support and solidarity' to Stardust families from Bloody Sunday Trust

Derry's Bloody Sunday Trust has sent 'support and solidarity' to the Stardust families who are gathering today for the "long-awaited result of the inquest into the terrible tragedy of the Stardust fire".

Maeve McLaughlin, director of the trust, said: "For 43 years, the Stardust families have borne the cost of that night, with the loss of their loved ones and the obstruction, antagonism and victim blaming from those that should have been helping them.

The verdicts of the Stardust inquests will be delivered today (Thursday) from 2.00pm. The coroner Myra Cullinane deferred the announcement to allow family members of the victims to gather.

On Wednesday afternoon, the foreman of the inquest jury informed Ms Cullinane a unanimous verdict could not be reached. The coroner then said she said she would accept a simple majority of seven. The foreman confirmed the jury has reached majority verdicts.

Maeve McLaughlin added: "It is a disgrace that it has taken them so long to get this far, and those that have stood in their way should hang their heads in shame.

"We hope that today they get what they deserve, full vindication for their loved ones and for their campaign for truth and justice, and proper recognition of who was to blame for the deaths that night.

"We have been proud to host the members of Justice for the Stardust 48 each time they have come to Derry, and we hope that their visits here and their meetings with us, have been of some help to them.

"As they hopefully come to an end to this part of their journey, and hopefully to a just outcome, we stand with them, just as they and many, many others stood with us through the long years of our fight for truth and justice.

"And if they continue their fight after today we will continue to stand with them, until they finally get all that they deserve.One world one struggle, one island one struggle."

During the Stardust inquests, poignant pen portraits of each of the victims were shared.

On Day 5, Yvonne Blackwell (née Graham) bravely honoured her friend Susan Morgan, who was from Derry, and died that night in the Stardust fire.

Yvonne said: "My name is Yvonne Graham. Susan Morgan was my friend. Susie was raised by her Granny, and they doted on each other. Susie and myself were part of a group of girls who moved from Derry to Dublin. We were pals, going to work together in Nazareth House care home on the Malahide Road. We lived in the care home, sharing accommodation there.

"Susie was a tom boy. She loved football. In Derry, Shantallow football club had two women’s teams: an A-team and a B-team. Susie was on the A-team. Susie was so full of life. She was so bubbly. She really loved life. She was so funny. The nuns in Nazareth House were always smiling and laughing at Susie being funny. She liked practical jokes. She promised to bring me a radio and when I got it, it turned out to be a soap-on-a-rope. Another time, she woke me up, going “We’re late for work! We slept in!” and, as I was throwing water on my face and getting dressed, she was falling about, laughing, because it was still the middle of the night. I was raging with her.

"Susie was thoughtful too. I remember her bringing back specific toys that were wanted, from Dublin to Derry, like a wee Spiderman figure. She really loved Dublin. For Susie and the rest of our pals, Dublin represented freedom and possibility.

"Our life in Dublin was a massive contrast with Derry. We had left a place which wasin conflict, and we had arrived in a city buzzing with life and freedom. Suzie noticed lots of wee differences in the big city – like the number of people happily cycling around: that’s not something that was common in places where movement was more restricted in the north.

"We walked so much in Dublin. Susie loved to walk along the big wide tree-lined avenues on the north-side of the city. She loved to feel the peaceful atmosphere in Fairview Park. She loved to feel the exciting atmosphere and the buzz of the city when we stepped off the bus onto the footpath in O’Connell Street.

"I remember Susie being mesmerised by the Dublin history and atmosphere at the Casino in Marino, which was just behind Nazareth House. It was being renovated at the time and the builders showed us the tunnels beneath it and told us about its past.Susie wasn’t just in love with Dublin. She had fallen in love with Paul Wade too. She was mad on him. We were 18 and 19 years old. We were having a ball. I don’t think we stayed in even for one night.

"On the night of the Stardust fire, we saw terrible, terrible, things that nobody should ever see. We were only young, and we saw other young people die right in front of us. I was taken to the Mater hospital. The place was rammed. I remember everyone around me with big, black, burnt faces.

"I don’t know how I got home to Nazareth House the next day. The nuns gave me whiskey in tea for shock. Then, later that day, the day after the fire, I went with Philip Marsh around the hospitals. We ended up going to the morgue. Susie’s clothes were recognisable. There was one shoe and the shirt she had beenwearing — a shirt she had borrowed for the night from one of us — and her signet ring. I was in bits. At Susie’s wake, there was talk about Susie’s body and – when I heard that – it made me become hysterically upset.

"There was blame. In the grief and loss, us girls were blamed for Susie being killed in the fire. We were blamed for taking her away from her home in Derry, for taking her away into danger.

"Our carefree life in Dublin was suddenly, brutally, cut short. Our families wanted us back in Derry. You go from being young, free, and single (well, single on and off!), and then the whole lot has just collapsed down on top of you. We never spoke about the trauma. We blocked it out.

"But at night, I had terrible nightmares. In nightmares, I saw burnt bodies coming up the bed at me. I had to take sedatives. I was only 18 and I was just sitting staring into space.

"The effects of the fire have carried on through time. Years after Susie was killed in the fire, I was sitting in a pub in Shantallow in Derry. The lights went out in the pub. I panicked and ran out the door. It’s not only the obvious trauma: it’s also the worries that shape the way you go about things every day.

"Over the years, I have been obsessive about pulling out the plugs in the house, making sure there can’t be an electrical fire. Even when I know I’ve already gone round the house and already checked that they’re disconnected, I have the compulsion to check them again.

Stardust victim Susan Morgan's family and friends joined by Bloody Sunday families

Stardust nightclub inquest beginning

Jury in Stardust inquests reaches majority verdicts to be delivered on Thursday

"The trauma of the Stardust fire also has a snowball effect, gathering up other lives that weren’t directly involved in it. It has affected the lives of my kids even though they weren’t born at the time. They were never allowed a chip pan in the house. I stocked up on lots of microwaveable chips – anything and everything to make sure there won’t be a fire. Everywhere I go, I’m always checking fire exits. The anxiety never leaves you.

"A big weight was put on our shoulders. When St Valentine’s Day comes around, instead of doing what you should be doing, celebrating life, we are plunged into terrible memories. Normality has been taken away. St Valentine’s Day is my youngest Grandchild’s birthday, but it’s also a terrible time too.

"I just hope so much that these inquests bring justice for people that have been waiting so long. Susie was so young. She had her whole life in front of her. All of that – all the possibilities in the life ahead of her – were taken away from her in the Stardust fire. We should not have had to wait so long for justice. The families whose loved ones were killed in the Stardust fire need to get justice now."