Lawyers acting for survivors and the families of victims of the Summerland fire have lodged an application for a new inquest.

Belfast-based Phoenix Law in its application to the island’s Attorney General claim there was irregularity in the proceedings at the original inquest - and substantial fresh evidence which was not heard calls into question the central conclusions.

It seeks to reopen the case to ensure a comprehensive investigation with the application of modern legal and forensic standards.

Campaign group Justice for Summerland called for a fresh inquest last year following a Dublin jury ruling in April 2024 that 48 people were ‘unlawfully killed’ in a nightclub fire in 1981, overturning the original verdict of arson.

They say there were similarities to the Isle of Man tragedy in which 50 people died including 11 children, in the blaze at the leisure centre on August 2 1973. Eighty people were seriously injured.

An initial inquest three months after the fire raised a number of safety concerns with some doors locked, the fire alarms failing, staff not trained for such an event and concerns about the use of the material ‘Oroglas’ as the acrylic sheeting in the building.

But an inquest the following year returned a verdict of ‘death by misadventure’.

The ‘Stardust’ nightclub fire in Dublin was started by an electrical fault, with emergency exits being locked when they shouldn’t have been.

The inquest, which was the longest running and largest in the Republic of Ireland’s history, was held at Dublin City Coroner's Court last year.

Darragh Mackin, partner at Phoenix Law, said: ‘For years families have raised concerns about the original investigation and inquest into the Summerland fire.

‘This application not only supports these concerns, but indeed, underscores them.

‘It is difficult to envisage a more compelling set of circumstances to which point firmly in favour of a fresh investigation.’

The Justice for Summerland Campaign group say the original 1973 inquiry into the disaster was ‘flawed, misinformed, and mishandled’ and the subsequent verdict of death by misadventure is ‘unjust and incorrect’.

Spokesperson for the group, Summerland survivor Jackie Hallam said: ‘The death by misadventure verdict implies that those who died in this terrifying inferno knew that they were taking a risk when they entered the leisure centre on that evening. They did not.

‘They were using the centre as it was intended to be used and had the right to expect the building to be safe.

‘The original inquiry reported a catalogue of criticism of the design, the authorities and the management of the leisure complex, and witnesses reported many failings in the evacuation process.

‘Yet all these things appear to have been dismissed upon reaching the final verdict.

‘Our legal team have thoroughly examined the case and have submitted the request based on evidence and fact therefore we are confident that the Attorney General will give this application his full consideration.’

Back in July 2023, a week before the fire’s 50th anniversary, Chief Minister Alfred Cannan issued an apology for the ‘wrongdoings of the past’.