
'deep shadow' Archbishop of Dublin remembers the horror of Stardust tragedy at memorial mass
"The loss of life is always tragic. But the loss of young and innocent life is beyond tragedy.”
The Stardust nightclub fire has "cast a long and deep shadow" as the 40th anniversary is commemorated, Archbishop of Dublin Dermot Farrell has said.
"I come here this morning to stand in solidarity with you in your inexpressible grief and sadness, to pray both for the victims of this awful tragedy and for healing for the families who suffered such loss,” he told the memorial mass.
"I come here this morning to stand in solidarity with you in your inexpressible grief and sadness, to pray both for the victims of this awful tragedy and for healing for the families who suffered such loss,” he said.
"The loss of life is always tragic. But the loss of young and innocent life is beyond tragedy.”
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Some 48 people were tragically killed and 200 injured in the fire that occurred on Valentine’s night in 1981 in the Stardust nightclub, Artane.
The Archbishop quoted Ms Gorman, an American 22-year-old who performed at US President Joe Bidens inaugeration.
“This young woman’s poem of hope, born out of the shock and dismay of the storming of the US Capitol on January 6th captured the imagination of the world,” the Archbishop said.
"In her poem, ‘The Hill We Climb’, she proclaims, “When day comes, we ask ourselves where can we find light in this never-ending shade?”
“In a real way this young woman captures what so many affected by the Stardust tragedy have been looking for these last 40 years: the events of that night 40 years ago have cast a long and deep shadow.
"To continue with Gorman, this is a ‘loss we carry, a sea we must wade.’”
Archbishop Farrell said so many families are still “re-living the horror of that night which is seared into the hearts and memories of a generation.”
He added: “A whole community was traumatised in the horror of that dreadful night. The lives of so many have been blighted by the loss of those young people, who were so full of hope and promise.
"That grievous loss has been compounded by their long quest for a full account of the tragedy that satisfies their need for truth.”
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