Stardust survivor and campaigner Antoinette Keegan has said she has decided not to run for the National Party in the General Election.
Ms Keegan announced her candidacy for the Fingal East constituency earlier this week.
She said she was running to highlight the lack of Government action on the payment of redress to survivors and families of the fire tragedy.
In 1981, 48 people were killed when the blaze ripped through the Stardust nightclub in Artane in Dublin.
However, in a statement this afternoon, Ms Keegan said she has decided not to run for the party, explaining the decision was “an error of judgement”.
She said that following advice from her friend, and solicitor for the Stardust families, Darragh Mackin, she said she realised that the principles she has long prided herself on are incompatible with the party.
Ms Keegan said in the same way she holds others to account, she holds herself to account for “making a mistake”.
She said she will not run in the election and will concentrate her energy on the outstanding issues relating to Stardust.
In a statement, the party said that from its perspective it did its “due diligence in terms of explaining the likely responses to her candidacy”.
It said Ms Keegan suggested she understood the party’s policies, platform and ideologies, which they said are “all publicly accessible and unambiguous.”
“A week is a long time in politics. It is clearly the best outcome that she withdraws her candidacy at this early stage, before any further resources had been expended and a proper campaign had been mounted,” they said.
