Stardust survivors speak after a long-awaited vindication

But why did justice for victims of the tragedy take so long?

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Stardust survivor Antoinette Keegan, who lost her two sisters Mary and Martina, outside Dublin Coroner's Court after verdicts of unlawful killing were returned by the jury in the Stardust fire inquests. Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA Wire
Stardust survivor Antoinette Keegan, who lost her two sisters Mary and Martina, outside Dublin Coroner's Court after verdicts of unlawful killing were returned by the jury in the Stardust fire inquests. Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

The jury in the Stardust inquests has returned a verdict of unlawful killing in the cases of each of the 48 young people who died in the fire at the Artane nightclub 43 years ago.

That means the survivors and the families of those who lost their lives have been vindicated in their long search for justice and accountability. But why did it take so long - and what happens next?

We hear from Stardust families, who spoke to Aideen Finnegan just after the verdict was read out.

And Irish Times social affairs correspondent Kitty Holland, who covered the inquest for the past year, talks about the meaning of the verdict and why this final official say on the tragedy took so long coming.