The body of brave soldier Sean Rooney will arrive home in Ireland today.
In heartbreaking scenes yesterday, Private Rooney’s coffin, draped in the Irish tri-colour, was carried by six colleagues on to an Air Corps CASA plane on the runway of Beirut International Airport. The 23-year-old started his final journey four days after he was shot dead while on a United Nations peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon last week.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said arrangements were being made for an appropriate service for Pte Rooney. He added: “Obviously he’ll be offered military honours which I think is appropriate given the circumstances.”
Read more: Body of Irish soldier killed in Lebanon ambush to be repatriated to Ireland
His coffin bearing the national flag was carried by six colleagues from the 121st Infantry Battalion on to an Air Corps CASA plane on the runway of Beirut International Airport at 4pm yesterday for the almost 4,000km flight back to Ireland. The Casa, with tail number IRL 253, is expected to land at the Air Corps HQ at Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnel, south Co Dublin at around 8am after a short stopover in Malta.
The 23-year-old started his final journey four days after he was shot dead while on a United Nations peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon where thousands of Irish soldiers have served since 1978, and where 47 of them also paid the ultimate sacrifice. Private Rooney, a native of Newtowncunningham in Co Donegal but who grew up in Dundalk, Co Louth, was shot dead on Wednesday night as he tried to drive three colleagues away from an angry mob in the village of al-Aqbiya.
Media reports in Lebanon last night said a post mortem showed he was shot twice in the head as he tried to steer the Defence Forces armoured utility vehicle away from the crowd. They state two suspects have now been identified for the attack which left Pte Rooney dead and Trooper Shane Kearney, 22, from Co Cork seriously ill with a fractured skull.
He was still in a UN hospital in Lebanon last night but Defence Forces chiefs hope to medevac him back to Ireland for specialist treatment as early as this week. At the airport memorial, UN peacekeepers stood by the hero’s coffin after it arrived from a hospital in the southern city of Sidon. His body was then transferred to a CVASA be taken back to Ireland.
“We shall always keep in mind our fallen comrades in arms, as they represent an example of an unwavering commitment to UNIFIL and this country,” the UNIFIL chief, Major General Aroldo Lazaro, said at the memorial. Representatives of Lebanese caretaker Defence Minister Maurice Slim and army chief Gen. Joseph Aoun also attended.
The Lebanese authorities have not yet commented on the ongoing investigation, though the security official added that seven bullets were retrieved from the vehicle. Pte Rooney’s colleague from the 340-strong UNIFIL mission formed a guard of honour for him during a ceremony at Beirut Airport yesterday.
Private Rooney’s body will be taken to Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel, before being reunited with his family later today. Two other peacekeepers were treated for minor injuries after Wednesday night’s incident – which happened as they were driving to the same airport on a humanitarian mission.
They were part of a two-car convoy heading to the airport to drop soldiers who were returning to Ireland because of deaths back home when the attack happened. It’s understood Pte Rooney’s second car became separated from the first vehicle. It tried to join up with it, but may have followed another car, thinking it was the Irish AUV.
The car was then attacked by a furious mob. Pte Rooney drove away from the crowd, but shots were fired at the Irish soldiers and he was hit in the head, killing him instantly. Investigators believe the car then crashed and flipped and Trooper Kearney suffered serious head injuries from that incident.
Two other soldiers were less seriously injured. Three Garda detectives have now joined an eight-strong Defence Forces team sent from Dublin to investigate the incident but the United Nations and Lebanese authorities are carrying out their own probes.
Reports in Arabic language outlets in Beirut say two men have already been identified as being the gunmen involved in the attack. Media reports said the men’s initials were MM and AZ and claims that they went into hiding minutes after the killing.
The reports also claim that terror group Hezbollah – blamed by many for the attack – was hunting the men themselves. It’s understood the Hezbollah leadership, which says it was not involved in the murder, will hand the men over to Lebanese Army officials if it finds them.
Read more: Irish soldier dies in Lebanon after convoy attacked
Meanwhile, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar reiterated his condolences to Pte Sean Rooney’s family and friends and colleagues in the Defence Forces. Speaking at an Irish Red Cross event for Ukrainian families in Dublin Mr Varadkar described the Irish UN peacekeeping mission’s work in Lebanon as “immensely valuable”.
He said arrangements were being made for an appropriate service. He added: “I don’t want to go into details of that now until it’s confirmed, but obviously, he’ll be offered military honours which I think is appropriate given the circumstances.”
He said it was important to understand the circumstances of the attack. Three investigations are under way; one led by the UN, another by the Defence Forces and a third by the Lebanese government. “I would have confidence in those investigations to find out exactly what happened, why an Irish soldier lost his life and another another was severely injured,” Mr Varadkar said.
“It’s important that we do that. It’s also important that we avoid any speculation, I think at this point until those investigations are done. But the main thing I think this week really is to stand with and express our condolences to Pte Rooney’s family, his friends and colleagues because it’s been a long time since we lost a soldier in combat in Lebanon. But it does remind us how important that mission is.”
Mr Varadkar said the Irish peacekeeping soldiers’ efforts have allowed people “in that part of Lebanon for the last few decades to lead a relatively normal life which wouldn’t be the case otherwise”.
Mr Varadkar said: “It’s an immensely valuable mission, over 40,000 Irish people have served there, which is extraordinary if you think about it, and one that we’re very committed to.”
Lebanon has already promised to punish anyone involved in the murder of Pte Rooney.
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