Stardust campaigner Christine Keegan's funeral hears she fought for justice right up to her death

Stardust campaigner Christine Keegan fought for justice for her daughters right up to her death, her funeral mass heard today.

The 84-year-old, fondly known as Chrissie, was laid to rest after an intimate funeral mass at St Joseph the Artisan Church in Bonnybrook, north Dublin.

Christine, along with her daughter Antoinette, spent the last 39 years fighting for an inquest into the nightclub fire that killed her girls Mary and Martina.

Parish priest Fr Joe Jones told mourners: “She has been reunited with her daughters Mary and Martina, and her husband John.

File photo of Christine Keegan (Collins)

File photo of Stardust campaigner Christine Keegan, left, during a protest outside Leinster House, Dublin in 2019 (Collins)

Rhonda Byrne claps as a unit of the local fire brigade in the funeral cortage of Christine Keegan, who lost two daughters in the Stardust fire in 1981, moves along her home on Greencastle Cresent on the way to her final resting place (Philip Fitzpatrick)

“John passed away 34 years ago and he was the love of her life. Now Chrissie and John are reunited.

“We know the heartache they both suffered in losing their two lovely daughters Mary and Martina.

“It’s an event that would haunt her for the rest of her life.

“An event that would tear many families apart, destroying the peace they should have known because of the lack of justice for the 48 people whose lives were taken.

“Chrissie fought for justice, and vowed never to give up, and she never did... attempting to bring justice into one of the darkest moments in the history of our country.”

Christine and Antoinette became leading campaigners within the Stardust Victims Committee, calling for a fresh inquest into the disaster.

Antoinette was at the fated Valentine’s Day disco at the Artane club in which her sisters Mary, 19, and 16-year-old Martina perished.

The coffin carrying the remains of Christine Keegan is carried to the hearse after mass in the St Joseph the Artisan Church in Coolock, Dublin (Philip Fitzpatrick)

Last September then Attorney General Seamus Woulfe said a new inquest into the blaze would be held - but the families have yet to be given a date.

Sadly, Chrissie became ill in February, on the 39th anniversary of the 1981 tragedy, and Antoinette has vowed to carry on the fight for justice in her name.

Today’s funeral was attended by Colonel Stephen Howard, aide de camp to President Michael D Higgins.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin was represented by aide de compe Commandant Caroline Burke.

Offertory symbols included a Liverpool blanket to remind mourners that ‘You’ll never walk alone”, trophies won over the years, an Aldi magazine and a religious candle.

There were also numerous Stardust items which Fr Jones said acted to remind us “of that horrific time in this country’s life”.

Attendance at the funeral was restricted to 45 people due to Covid-19 but a crowd gathered at the Stardust Memorial Park nearby to pay their respects.