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The Burning Nightclub That LOCKED Patrons Inside | Last Moments

Qxir | October 6, 2025



It sounds like a bad dream – the nightclub is on fire and when you reach the exits, they’re locked.

“The Stardust fire was a fatal fire which took place at the Stardust nightclub in Artane, Dublin, Ireland in the early hours of 14 February (Valentine’s Day) 1981. Some 800 people had attended a disco there, of whom 48 died and 214 were injured as a result of the fire. The club was located where Butterly Business Park now lies, opposite Artane Castle Shopping Centre.”

More on Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stardust_fire

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Written by Qxir

Comments

This post currently has 37 comments.

  1. @MichaelD8393

    October 6, 2025 at 5:03 pm

    Being half-Irish, it was only a matter of time before I learned about the Stardust fire. I first heard about it in about 2012, but I gained far more insight when I visited family in Dublin in 2014. My one cousin said just mention of the name "Stardust" can change the mood of a whole room, even at a wedding. That shows the depth of the psychological effects of what happened; feelings hadn't healed after 33 years, and I doubt they have 43 years later either.

  2. @Soundbrigade

    October 6, 2025 at 5:03 pm

    The Backa fire in Gothenburg in 1998 – 63 killed over 200 wounded. The one exit was down narrow stairs and young people suffocating from the fire or tripping over soon blocking the exit. The disco had an allowance for 150 visitors but almost 400 kids were allowed in.
    Four young kids set fire to some furniture outside the back entrance because one of them wasn’t allowed in for free …

  3. @gordcu4655

    October 6, 2025 at 5:03 pm

    Lock a fire exit with a chain during business hours, go to jail. It should be just that simple. There's a reason fire exits are required by code

  4. @lowtechredneck6704

    October 6, 2025 at 5:03 pm

    0:37 Sadly, after watching numerous videos about several different nightclub fires, its not hard to believe at all. A new inquiry has recently set the record straight, but is anyone who could now be held accountable even still alive?

  5. @carolleslie517

    October 6, 2025 at 5:03 pm

    I came across this story, as I've been learning about the 2003 club fire in Rhode Island, set by pyrotechnics. Same thing regarding exits that had been blocked to prevent people from sneaking in (among other factors like foam on the walls)

  6. @spikeycat81

    October 6, 2025 at 5:03 pm

    I walked past the results of the inquest this week. I had just done fire Warden training nearby. I didn't see the families or survivors but I felt such a pang as I passed. Knowing now how many ways this could and should have been avoided. Learning from a Dublin Fire Brigade member that it traumatised a whole community and the fire brigade themselves. 💐

  7. @EBB-kab

    October 6, 2025 at 5:03 pm

    Well, today's the day. Unlawful killing. Doesn't change the fact that these people died, but at least the families have what fought for.

  8. @BigEightiesNewWave

    October 6, 2025 at 5:03 pm

    1981 I felt Disco was dead. It was only New-Wave for me. Disco was made fun of by many. It was goofy. Dress in tight-pants, with open shirt-top, and do the finger pointing up, pose. The pose John someone did.

  9. @brenhutchinson5017

    October 6, 2025 at 5:03 pm

    I remember the next day like it was yesterday … I was 10 years old ..watching frantic parents rushing around looking for their kids who hadn't come home many whom we all knew …it's a disgrace that Buterly was never charged or the families given peace . And to rub salt into the wound Buterly with no shame open Crazy Joe's disco bar some 6-7 years after on the sight … It closed few years later as no right minded person would set foot in the kip

  10. @rogerrendzak8055

    October 6, 2025 at 5:03 pm

    Here's some creepyness, for you. The island community, where I live, on the southeast coast of NJ, had a dance hall, half a century ago, named The 'Starlight Ballroom'. That closed in '66 (I think), and later became, an arcade. That burned down, during the summer of '81🤔⁉️ But nobody, was killed or injured, in that gigantic fire!!!

  11. @peacemaker9046

    October 6, 2025 at 5:03 pm

    This reminds me of the triangle shirtwaist fire. Long story short a clothes factory burnt down killing many as the fire exits were locked and there was no fire escape ladders

  12. @GrouchyMonk2025

    October 6, 2025 at 5:03 pm

    The people with money and power always win. They write the laws. They execute them only when convenient. And when all is said and done, they write the history books.

    I learned of the Stardust fire while living in Arizona, but I was kiving in Dublin two months after that fire. The Stardust owner was already trying to reopen. Everyone should know,, wherever they are, that governments cannot be depended on to protect us. We have to protect ourselves.

    In the US, we need to know where the exits are not just because of potential fires but because of potential shooters (remember Pulse Nightclub?). Know where the exits are. Try to avoid being in pubs or other crowded places where crowds seem to exceed legal capacity. Try to stay close to exits. Listen to the little voice of warning in your head when you see something suspicious, and plan an escape – or, better yet, just leave before you NEED to escape.

  13. @robert-trading-as-Bob69

    October 6, 2025 at 5:03 pm

    The Butterly family should have been held responsible!
    There were numerous safety violations noted in Dublin Corporation inspections.
    These violations included overcrowding, blocking exits inside the club, blocking exits outside the club, broken emergency lights, faulty emergency door mechanisms, and locking doors to prevent unauthorized access.

    Eamon Butterly wrote on January 27, 1981 that "I personally take great care to make sure all exits are clear."

    There is a special hell waiting for him and his family for their part in this tragedy.

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