Families are hopeful of new Whiddy inquests

A NEW inquest into the deaths of 50 people in the Whiddy Oil disaster of 1979 could soon get the go-ahead, according to the son of one of the victims.

Michael Kingston, whose father Tim died in the aftermath of the explosion on the Betelgeuese oil tanker which was docked at the island jetty, says he is now very optimistic about a new inquiry.

Mr Kingston became a marine lawyer in an effort to seek justice for the 50 families, and now says he believes a new inquest is a ‘distinct possibility’, given the positive correspondence between the families and the current attorney general.

Tim Kingston died just hours after his son Michael’s fourth birthday in January 1979, along with a further six Irish citizens, an Englishman and 42 French citizens.

Flowers were laid at the monument in Bantry by the families and friends of the Whiddy disaster, on Monday, marking 45 years since the tragedy.

For all his adult life, Michael has been seeking answers to the horrific tragedy and doesn’t believe the inquests which took place in 1979 were held on a sound legal footing.

In December of 2022, after many years of campaigning, Michael was given access to the inquest files from the tragedy, and has been seeking fresh inquests for many years. He says the inquests should never have been held until the tribunal into the tragedy had concluded.

The inquests were held in July and August of 1979, but the tribunal report was not published until July 1980.

The recent Stardust fire inquests have given Michael hope and he also believes that requests from the attorney general for more documentation about the Bantry disaster are a clear indicator that the deaths at Whiddy could be re-examined within the next 12 months.

The terms of reference would have to be agreed with all 50 families, and each would be entitled to be represented at the inquests, which could mean a lengthy process, as interpretors would also be needed for many of the French families. It is also expected that the inquests would be held in Cork.

‘We are delighted that the government is finally engaging with us. This is the first time, in effect, since the Tribunal, that they have done so,’ Mr Kingston told The Southern Star this week.

The matter was referred to the attorney general by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, after lengthy correspondence with successive governments by the families of the victims.

An inquest into the death of Michael’s father Tim was held in July 1979, in the absence of a body, but after Tim’s body was recovered just a month later, a second inquest was held. Both came to a similar conclusion, but Michael believes the inquests relied on unsound witness statements and should have, instead, waited until the Tribunal had published its findings.

Two of the main witnesses mentioned in the Tribunal were subsequently charged with perjury.

Michael, from Goleen, recently represented the Lucas family at the inquest into the death of Coast Guard volunteer Catriona Lucas.  The inquest unearthed key failures in the Department of Transport’s processes.

Mr Kingston, a respected international expert on marine issues, has practised law in the UK for many years, and has advised a number of countries on maritime law.

He says he is hopeful his decades-long campaign on behalf of the Whiddy victims’ families may be nearing a completion.

‘It has been 45 years and it’s time the families got justice,’ he added.