Verdict in landmark Stardust inquests to be announced today

The jury's in the landmark Stardust inquests will be announced at 2pm today.

Families of the 48 victims of the Stardust tragedy will gather today at the Dublin District Coroner's Court, as the long-running and long anticipated inquests reach their conclusion.

It had been confirmed yesterday afternoon that the jury had reached a verdict, but the judge deferred the announcement to this afternoon.

The 12-person jury had told the court yesterday that they had reached majority verdict, after they could not reach a unanimous decision.

Yesterday was the eleventh day of deliberation for the jury. The jury has previously been told there are five verdicts open to them: accidental death, death by misadventure, unlawful killing, an open verdict and a narrative verdict.

The inquests into the deaths of 48 people after a fire at the Stardust nightclub in Artane, north Dublin, began in April last year and have heard evidence from 373 people. The fire broke out in the early hours of Valentine’s Day in 1981.

The proceedings, which are being held in the Pillar Room on the grounds of the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin city centre, began last April following a sustained campaign by relatives. It sat for over 100 days.