A patron at the Stardust nightclub has described how he heard the screams of people trapped inside the toilets as he attempted to break the windows and told how his efforts were futile because there was “a steel plate” in the way.
James Cumiskey, who was just 18 at the time, cried as he told the inquest on Tuesday “There was nothing I could have done”.
The inquest has previously heard how steel plates were welded over the toilet windows approximately six weeks before the blaze.
In emotional testimony, Mr Cumiskey broke down as he described seeing young people on fire as they came out of one of the exit doors.
Mr Cumiskey is one of the first of the patrons who were present at the disco on the night of the fatal blaze on February 13th 1981 to give evidence to the jury at Dublin District Coroner’s Court.
Before proceedings got underway this morning, Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane explained to the jury that the inquest is now moving into a new phase to hear the evidence from those who attended the Stardust ballroom as patrons on the night of the fire.
Mr Cumiskey’s statement to gardaí at the time was also read into the record today. The then-teenager said he attended the club with friends and was watching a disco dancing competition taking place in the Stardust ballroom when he smelled smoke and at first thought it was a smoke bomb.
In his statement, Mr Cumiskey said he then looked over to a shuttered-off area and saw flames coming through the shutters. He said he told a girl who was beside him and other people to “come on out as the place is on fire”.
He said he heard the disc jockey announce from the stage: “Don’t panic, don’t panic”.
He said they made their way towards exit number one and as they were leaving a cloud of black smoke came down on top of them and people were choking and coughing from the fumes. “I was just outside the door when the lights went out,” he said.
Mr Cumiskey said he then ran around to the main entrance and saw a man hanging out the window on top of the canopy shouting for help. He said the man’s face was badly cut and told how he got someone to keep him up as he helped the man out of the window and down the canopy.
He said he then saw a man outside the main door near the toilets with a hammer in his hand. Mr Cumiskey said the they grabbed the hammer from the man and tried to break the glass in the window, but it wouldn’t break.
“I could hear screams inside for help. The whole roof was in a blaze at this time and the area inside was a ball of flame.”
He said he then ran around to exit number four where he saw people coming out and some of them were on fire.
The witness told Mark Tottenham BL, a member of the coroner’s legal team, that he couldn’t be sure which window the canopy he had mentioned in his garda statement was positioned over. He confirmed that when he ran around to exit number four, some of those coming out were already on fire.
As Mr Cumiskey became emotional, Dr Cullinane acknowledged that giving evidence was "very hard" as the witness knew many of those who lost their lives.
He confirmed to barrister Joseph O’Keefe, acting on behalf of some of the families of the deceased, that when he went around to the front of the building, he could hear people inside the building shouting for help.
“You could hear the screams,” Mr Cumiskey said. “There was nothing I could have done”.
He said he took a hammer from a man and tried to break the glass in the window, but it wouldn’t break. Mr Cumiskey said he believed this was the toilet window.
“And you were trying to help them, obviously, by breaking the window to get them out. Trying to use a window as a means of escape to get out. Is that right?” Counsel asked, to which the witness agreed.
“Did you get the impression there was something behind the window?”
“I remember a bar alright, a steel plate or whatever, like it was steel alright,” said Mr Cumiskey. “I couldn’t do anything because of the bar, you know."
The inquest continues this afternoon.
