Stardust ‘policy’ to loop chains over emergency exits to make them look locked, inquest hears

It was “policy” in the Stardust nightclub in north Dublin, where 48 young people died in a fire in 1981, to loop chains over emergency exits to give the appearance they were locked, inquests into the deaths heard on Thursday.

Francis Kenny, a doorman at the venue, agreed it was a practice that “created catastrophic outcomes” where patrons believed exits were locked in the ballroom. Around two exits, the bodies of an estimated 22 of the victims were found, the inquests heard.

Fresh inquests into the deaths of 48 people, aged between 16 and 27 who died in the Artane venue in the early hours of 14th February 1981, are being held at Dublin coroner’s court following a recommendation in 2019 by then attorney general, Séamus Woulfe, that they be opened.

Mr Kenny who was 22 at the time and had worked at the Stardust for about six weeks, was not working on the night. He attended as a patron on the night but left before the disaster.

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He told Des Fahy KC for the families of nine of the dead, when he started working in December 1980 senior doorman Leo Doyle showed him how to unlock the emergency exits and loop chains around the push-bars to give the appearance they were locked. This was to discourage people opening doors from the inside to let friends in.

“You were given a tutorial or demonstration on how to trick teenagers that a fire exit was locked?” asked Mr Fahy. “That is correct.”

“Can you say if every new doorman, as far as you can say, that every new doorman during the time you were employed was shown how to loop the chains over the doors [to make them appear locked]?.

“I would imagine so ... I was junior. It was policy that the door was unlocked and the chain was looped over,” he said.

Focusing on two exits known as exits ‘4′ and ‘5′, Mr Fahy asked if Mr Kenny – who went on to have a 31-year career with Dublin Fire Brigade – would he consider the practice of “tricking” patrons into thinking they were locked as “potentially catastrophic”.

In 1981 he did not think anything of it, he said. “As a 31-year fire officer right now ... absolutely I would agree with you.”

“This was a practice which ... created catastrophic outcomes around exits 4 and 5. By catastrophic I mean that, doing our best, we estimate the bodies of 22 of the victims were found in a parabular curve ... around exits 4 and 5. That’s the significance of these exits and the significance of the practice you were asked to carry out. Do you understand?”

“Yes”.

He was not aware of a change in policy in the weeks before the disaster, to keep exits locked during events, due the manager Eamon Butterly’s concerns people were entering without paying. Mr Fahy asked Mr Kenny if there was “paranoia” on Mr Butterly’s part about this.

“I would say there was some of that, yes. Mr Butterly used to stand on the stairs and be spotting people ... There were reports of people getting in and we didn’t know how they were getting in.”

“He wanted something done about that?” “That is correct, yes.”

Asked about a statement by Tom Kennan, head doorman, given on 7th March 1981, in which he “indicated” on the night of the fire doors were locked “to a point between [midnight] and 12.30am”, he said it was a “surprise” to him.

He later described all the doormen being summoned to the Stardust complex the day after the fire, and “not to talk to anyone” until Mr Butterly’s solicitor had spoken to them. He said they gathered in the adjoining Silver Swan pub, where “there were bottles of spirits available to anyone who wanted it”.