Mary Kenny (19), Coolock - ‘She was very happy going out the door that night’

The inquests into the deaths of the 48 young people who died in the Stardust fire in Artane, Dublin, in 1981 feature pen portraits of each of the deceased read by bereaved family members. Find all of the portraits and more coverage here.

Mary was the eldest daughter of Sarah and Michael Kenny and big sister to Carol, Paul and myself.

She attended Maria Goretti primary school in Bonnybrook and Coláiste Dhúlaigh technical school Coolock. When she left school, her first job was as a receptionist in Briggs & McCrae in town. Mary loved her job.

Mary didn’t drink or smoke. Her passions in life were dancing and fashion and she would look forward to going to the Stardust on a Friday night. She loved music: Queen, T-Rex and Barry Manilow were her favourites and she followed Leeds United football team.

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On the Friday evening, before she left home, we were all sitting in the kitchen with our mam laughing and talking about who had received Valentine’s cards.

[Mary] was trying to persuade Carol ... to go with her that night. Fortunately, Carol was saving for a holiday she had booked with her friends. She was very happy going out the door that night and called around for her best friend Mary Keegan. She said she would see us later.

Our nightmare started when Paul rushed in, distressed, at around 1.50am. We were all in bed ... He was shouting repeatedly to ask if Mary was home.

I remember it was bitterly cold, frosty and dark out and we had to throw on whatever clothes we could find. We didn’t have a car so we had to walk to Coolock Garda station in the cold. The station was in chaos with countless people looking for news of their loved ones.

We were told ... to go home and check with the hospitals. The hospitals had no record of Mary.

Our parents were distraught. They did not know what to do. We were all hoping and praying that Mary would walk through the front door.

A couple of days later Carol was asked to go to the city morgue to identify Mary’s jewellery. She had only bought her a silver ring for her birthday a few weeks before. She identified the ring and wristwatch Mary was wearing that night and they were all black from the fire.

A day later we were told officially Mary was one of the deceased. We were all in shock, totally devastated, and it slowly dawned on us that we would never see our lovely sister again.

Our dad died a few years later – broken-hearted over his eldest daughter’s death.

Our mam’s life changed completely. She went from having a happy family to losing her eldest daughter and husband within two years. She was left to pick up the pieces with a broken heart. She visited the grave every weekend for years and never got over the loss. She was diagnosed with breast cancer eight years later. She passed away in 2004.

There is always a sadness in our family. My sister is extremely overly protective of her children, especially when they were going out as teenagers. Our brother Paul who had been at the Stardust still cannot talk about it.

I ... would give anything to go back to that night we were all laughing and happy and stop Mary going to the Stardust ... We hope after these inquests our sister Mary, her friend Mary and all the victims can rest in peace, and we as a family can have closure.