Bereaved families of the 48 victims of the 1981 Stardust nightclub disaster received closure tonight when the Government publicly recorded that the cause of the killer fire was not arson.
Campaigners said they finally got justice for the dead and hundreds injured by proving nobody in the north Dublin venue was responsible.
Antoinette Keegan, who lost her sisters Martina and Mary in the inferno, said it was very important to have the arson theory removed.
"It's finally closure for the families that it was never proved that arson started the Stardust fire," said Ms Keegan. "It gives parents the peace of mind that their children will finally be able to rest."
For almost three decades relatives rejected the findings of an original inquiry which recorded the cause as probable arson.
An independent examination of a case put forward by the Stardust Victims Committee by barrister Paul Coffey found no evidence it had been started deliberately.
Stardust survivors and family members were tonight in the public gallery of the Dail to witness the correction of the official public record - stating the cause of the fire remains unknown.
The motion passed by Government also acknowledged the original finding of arson was a mere hypothetical explanation, and that no one in the nightclub could be can be held responsible for it.
Politicians called on the Government to establish a committee to monitor the counselling and medical needs of the survivors and bereaved and expressed continuing and deep sympathy with all of them.
The stardust victims committee plans to hold a candlelight vigil at the site of the nightclub site in Artane, north Dublin, to mark the 28th anniversary of the fire on February 13th.
"This year the anniversary will make a big difference for us," continued Ms Keegan. "It means we will be able to let the victims go because they have been trapped there for the last 28 years.
"After all the years of enduring the arson theory, and the fight we have had to change that, we hope the motion will be passed and the last step will go our way."
PA