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They Never Came Home
The Stardust Story
Neil Fetherstonhaugh & Tony McCullagh

"This absorbing and traumatic account of that tragic night – February 13-14 1981 – moves its readers, not because it avoids euphemism, but because it tells the story of real people…the book is most successful for the personal stories told and painstaking detail it goes into. They Never Came Home is well compiled and excellently researched. It deserves to be read…”
- The Sunday Business Post

“They Never Came Home tells the story of the Stardust tragedy and its aftermath. While it is a heartrending and sensitive account, it is also a very disturbing one.”
- The Irish Times

“An exceptional piece of investigative journalism.”
- Mark Cagney, Ireland AM presenter, TV3

“The book is a catalogue of grief…The book is also a catalogue of negligence, insensitivity and the safety regulations of a banana republic.”
- The Sunday Tribune

“A gripping new book.”
- The Sunday World

“They Never Came Home throws disturbing new light on the Stardust disaster.”
- The Star

“Chillingly compulsive, They Never Came Home is a must for anyone who has ever contemplated a night out.”
- RTE Guide

On the eve of Valentine’s Day, 1981, over 800 young people celebrated in the ‘Stardust’ disco in Dublin – forty-eight of them never made it home and others trapped in the fire that engulfed the club suffered horrific, disfiguring injuries. Hundreds more would bear the emotional scars of loss and grief for the remainder of their lives.

Politicians who wept at the scene of the fire mounted a full-scale investigation into the disaster. It found that the owners of the ill-fated disco complex had acted with “reckless disregard” for the safety of its patrons, but no charges were ever brought against the owners. In fact, they went on to win substantial damages for the loss of the ‘Stardust’ complex.

The victims have always claimed that the inquiry did not go far enough. The ‘Stardust’ fire raised many questions: what caused the flames to spread so rapidly? Were fire exits chained or locked? Why were there steel bars on the windows of the toilets? How were the owners able to get away with breaches of fire regulations and building bye-laws despite numerous inspections of the ‘Stardust’ by Dublin Corporation?

As the twenty-first anniversary of the ‘Stardust’ fire approaches, the authors of They Never Came Home present disturbing new evidence that they believe casts doubt on the original finding of “probable” arson.

It is also a story of the forgotten victims of the tragedy: the families and survivors speak openly and honestly about their decades-long campaign for justice. From the relatives’ high profile battle for compensation to one father’s murderous plot to seek personal revenge for the loss of his two beautiful daughters, the book paints a grim picture of ordinary people’s helplessness and desperation in the face of bureaucracy.

This new edition of They Never Came Home has been published to coincide with the 21st anniversary of the ‘Stardust’ tragedy. Now also a major TV Drama made by Merlin Films in conjunction with RTE.