This finding resulted in a successful claim for malicious damages by the Butterly family, the owners of the Stardust complex, who were awarded £581,496 in damages in 1983. It sparked a difficult legal battle for survivors and relatives of the dead, who have campaigned unsuccessfully for the government to launch a fresh investigation into the Stardust disaster.

However, new evidence that is to be presented on RTE's Prime Time this Tuesday will dispute the tribunal's findings as to the cause of the fire and where it started in the Stardust building.

Antoinette Keegan, who lost her two sisters in the fire, said that, because of his refusal to re-open the investigation, Bertie Ahern would not be welcome at the mass that was held yesterday to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the disaster.

"He is not welcome here, " she said. "The government is wrong; the whole tribunal was a whitewash. Everything they did to us was wrong.

They treated us appallingly."

Meanwhile, a study by an international insurance body has revealed that Ireland has the second highest rate of fire deaths in the EU. According to the Geneva Association, the rate of deaths here is dramatically above similar rates in central and eastern European states such as Poland and the Czech Republic, and is more than double the rate of fellow EU states like Germany, Italy and Spain.

Tonight the first part of Stardust, the drama, will be screened on RTE. Elizabeth (Lil) Buckley whose son Jimmy died in Stardust and was depicted in the programme said she was happy to see his story on television but that it was too difficult to watch at times.

"I was interested in the dancing scenes, " she said.

"The boys loved to dance and they would be excited about the dancing competitions. It brought it all back. The fire part was too much for me and I couldn't keep watching after that."

Buckley's three sons, Albert, Errol and Jimmy, were at the disco that night, but only Errol and Albert got out alive. Buckley got £5000 in compensation for Jimmy that she said she never wanted, but she is tired now of the long battle for justice. "This is the last hurrah now, all the publicity and the television programme, " she said. "I'll be glad when it's all over. I'll never forget my Jimmy, but the time has come when I'm tired of all the fighting back and forth. It's time to let it go."