AG assessing request for new inquests into deaths of Whiddy Island disaster victims
January 8, On The 1979 Bantry, At On Island Betelgeuse Fire Co Cork, Oil Terminal, Whiddy
The Office of the Attorney General has begun assessing a request for new inquests into the deaths of all 50 victims of the Whiddy Island disaster which occurred 45 years ago today.
The office has asked for clarification on documentation, and for further details about new information that emerged since inquests were held in July 1979.
The request for fresh inquests was made by Michael Kingston, whose father, Tim, was among the victims of the 1979 tragedy.
Mr Kingston, a lawyer who specialises in international maritime law, made the request in his capacity as vice president of the French-Irish Association of Relatives and Friends of the Betelgeuse, the group which represents the families of those who died.
The French-owned tanker, Betelgeuse, caught fire and exploded at the Gulf Oil-operated terminal jetty at Whiddy Island in Bantry Bay, Co Cork, on January 8, 1979, killing 50 people, both on the ship and on the jetty.
Seven Irish men died, including Tim Kingston, who was just 31, Charlie Brennan, Denis O’Leary, Neilly O’Shea, Jimmy O’Sullivan, Liam Shanahan, and David Warner, along with Briton, Mike Harris, and the 42 French crew of the Betelgeuse.
Dutch diver, Jaap Pols, died later during the salvage operation.
Mr Kingston, who turned four the day before his father's death, has spent years campaigning for new inquests into the deaths of those killed in the explosion after he found the July 1979 inquests relied on the statements that were found to have been fabricated.
Mr Kingston, who finally after lengthy attempts was able to inspect the inquest files in December 2022, wrote to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar this time last year pointing out the unreliability of the inquests, how the recorded causes of death make no reference whatsoever to the circumstances surrounding the disaster, including the regulatory failures which led to it, and asking him to direct the attorney general’s office to order the hearing of new inquests.
The office contacted Mr Kingston just before Christmas apologising for the delay in responding and requesting supporting documentation.
A government spokesman for the office said the attorney general has a function under the Coroners Act 1962 to direct a coroner to hold an inquest where he considers that the circumstances of a person's death make the holding of an inquest advisable.
But he added: "The office has no comment to make in respect of specific cases."
Mr Kingston said: “The delay in reviewing this matter has certainly compounded the grief of the families involved but I welcome the first contact from the AG’s office on this matter. It is deeply appreciated.
“So many family members, particularly wives of those who died, are passing away, and therefore receipt of the correspondence from the AG’s office is timely.”
As families mark the 45th anniversary of the tragedy today, Mr Kingston is preparing for his first face-to-face meeting with a representative of the office within days to discuss the matter.
A tribunal of inquiry into the Whiddy Island disaster found the 11-year-old Betelgeuse was in poor condition, with cracks in its hull and tanks, where evidence of corrosion and leaking was found.
It concluded that an incorrect oil unloading and ballasting sequence unbalanced the vessel, causing it to break its keel, which ruptured empty tanks, allowing vapours to escape, mix and ultimately ignite.
It said the ship’s owners, Total, had to bear most responsibility for the initiation of the disaster.
The jetty operators, Gulf Oil were also severely criticised for a range of human and procedural failings, which prevented a successful rescue of all victims from the jetty.