An independent hearing which could lead to the reopening of a public inquiry into the Stardust disaster ended in Dublin tonight.
Three days of expert evidence was heard behind closed doors by senior counsel Paul Coffey, who will recommend if the Government should re-examine the cause of the killer nightclub fire.
Forty-eight young people died and hundreds of others were injured when a fire ripped through the north Dublin night-spot in 1981.
Greg O'Neill, solicitor for the Stardust Victims Committee, said that on October 13th he will make his final legal submissions to Mr Coffey who will then make his submission to Government.
Antoinette Keegan, whose sisters Mary and Martina were killed in the fire, said she believed their case was strong. "Given all the evidence and statements, we are satisfied that we have gone to the highest degree that we could go to prove our case," she said. "We had two fire experts, a pathologist, our researcher, victims and witnesses who saw what happened that night.
"We now want Mr Coffey to make his decision on what he heard."
An inquiry established by the Government after the tragedy ruled the cause of the inferno in the early hours of February 14th 1981 was probable arson. Grieving families, who rejected the outcome, battled for almost three decades to have their evidence re-examined.
PA