A survivor of the Stardust disaster whose husband was killed in the fire has described the moment the roof collapsed and realising he was dead.
Marie Hogan was giving evidence today at the inquests into the deaths of the 48 people who died in 1981 fire. Her husband, Eugene 'Hughie' Hogan who was 24 years old at the time, was one of who was killed.
The court heard how the couple and their friends had gone out that night for a farewell as they had been due to move to Kerry the very next day, with Eugene due to begin work as cabinet maker with Marie’s father. The couple had two young children at the time.
In a statement, she said: "My Dad was going to be collecting us the day after the fire, the four of us were going to move to Kerry.’’
The court heard how the couple knew each other since they were 13 and grew up "down the road" from each other.
She described how she was on the dance floor and the panic as people realised there was a fire.
"My husband Eugene told me to wait and that he was going up to get the coats, he told me to wait that he wouldn’t be long," she said.
The lights then went out and people started panicking, she said.
The court heard how she was then pushed with the crowd to Exit 4. She said there were people pushing at it and said it was locked. "We couldn’t get out," she said today, "there was a chain around the handle part".
She then described being pushed to Exit 5. "They kept banging and banging and eventually it opened, and everyone tried to get out, but it was like a stampede because everyone was crushed together."
Once outside, she said she was walking around "telling people to get Hughie out for me".
The court also heard how someone had told her Eugene was already out, "but he wasn’t, he never got out".
She described then seeing the roof collapse in the area where they had been sitting. "I knew then Hughie was dead."
The inquests were also told how Marie Hogan and her mother-in-law went around the hospitals looking for Eugene.
She spoke too of her loss and paid tribute to her late husband.
"Me and Eugene we were only really sort of starting off, Eugene was funny and would make me laugh, he was a hard worker and he was mad about the kids."
"I’ll never forget that night," she said.
'It was pitch black'
Another survivor spoke of the "terror" as she tried to make it out of the burning building.
Doreen Desmond was 18 years old and it was her first time in the Stardust club.
She was on the dance floor when she was alerted to the fire and said at that stage it looked like it could have been easily put out by a fire extinguisher.
She described how pandemonium broke out as the fire rapidly spread.
She also recalled the "liquid drops" coming from the ceiling and how the smoke was taking over.
"It was pitch black," she said.
She said she could feel the smoke "choking" her lungs. "It was thick and it was very toxic," she said.
The court heard how she made her way to Exit 4 and could hear people banging on it, trying to get it open.
She said it was "pandemonium" and the atmosphere was one of "terror" as people clamoured around.
It "could have been three minutes" before the doors opened, she said.
Ms Desmond said the crowd "took her out", and that she did not work her way out.
Once outside, she said she tried to give comfort to people who were struggling.
Ms Desmond told the court how people were "all black" from the smoke and collapsing outside and that she could not identify her friends or other people.
'We couldn't breathe' says survivor
Joan Melia, who was 17 at the time of the disaster, described a fire exit being kicked as people tried to make their escape.
The court heard how she ended up at Exit 4 and that it was locked and chained.
Ms Melia said it was being kicked and that she could see the chain on it.
She said it "seemed like hours" before she then went to Exit 5 and said the lights then went out.
She recalled the smoke and how everyone was panicking. The smoke was "very thick, we couldn't breathe", she told the court.
The same man was who was kicking at Exit 4 was then kicking at Exit 5, she said.
She said she was "around the tenth person" out the door.
