The Irish soldier killed in Lebanon on Wednesday was due to get married and was saving with his fianceé for their big day next year.
Irish peacekeeper Private Seán Rooney, 23, who hailed from Newtowncunningham, died after a vehicle carrying four soldiers was attacked on December 14.
It's understood that the vehicle Mr Rooney was travelling in was on its way to the airport bringing two soldiers so they could return to Ireland on compassionate leave due to bereavements.
Read more: "Deep sense of shock" as Irish soldier killed on peacekeeping mission
The fatal incident happened in Al-Aqbieh, just outside the UN-affiliated group’s area of operations, when an armoured vehicle came under attack by a mob and was fired on at around 11.15pm local time (9.15pm UK time).
“I’m absolutely heartbroken and it hasn’t sunk in yet that he’s gone, but I at least know that he died doing what he loved and serving his country," his fiancée Holly McConnellogue (22) told the Irish Times.
Mr Rooney and Ms McConnellogue were due to be married in August 2023, after meeting in Derry a number of years ago.
“We met three years ago yesterday, three years to the day he died. He was a fantastic person to be with," she said.
“He was one of the good ones, as they say. He taught me so much about myself and about unconditional love. He really showed me what unconditional love is like.”
Originally from Dundalk, Co Louth, Mr Rooney moved to Newtowncunningham in Co Donegal around the age of 12. The 23-year-old had been in the army for nearly four years.
Mr Rooney had previously been on a mission to Lebanon in 2021 for six months.
“When the opportunity came up for him to go to Lebanon again, we were saving to be married, and he took that opportunity for us. He was so selfless and he wanted to help other people over there too," Holly added.
Ms McCollellogue said she was “speaking to him just last night. He messaged me because we were supposed to FaceTime, but he said he had to drop a friend to the airport because he had a bereavement”.
The Derry woman added: “He wanted to help his friend and drop him off for the flight home because that was the kind of person he was. That was the last I heard from him.”
“Even though he’s gone, it was still worth it to have known him for these three years."
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