On the second anniversary of the death of Irish UN peacekeeper Private Seán Rooney in Lebanon, the Donegal man’s family are still seeking answers about what happened on the night he was killed.
On Thursday, the UN said further information will be provided to Pte Rooney’s family about the attack on the UN-marked vehicles in which he and colleagues were travelling when they were fired on by armed men in the town of Al-Aqbiya on 14 December 2022.
A spokesperson for Secretary General António Guterres said that the information will be shared with Ireland’s UN diplomatic mission.
It is the latest development in what has become a lengthy quest to get a clear picture of the events of that night.
They are also hoping to soon gain insight from various of Irish investigations, including a senior counsel-led inquiry which has now set about its work, having been announced just last month.
An inquest process through the Dublin Coroners’ Court is also due to continue in the new year. It followed a garda investigation. The most recent hearing in October heard the coroner had written to the UN seeking the provision of documents, including the report referenced by the UN spokesperson on Thursday.
Darragh Mackin of Phoenix Law, who represents Pte Rooney’s family, said “it’s one of many pieces of crucial evidence that needs to be assessed and considered, and only when all the relevant pieces are assessed collectively can the truth be told.”
He welcomed the UN update in a statement issued to RTÉ on behalf of Pte Rooney’s family to mark the second anniversary of his killing.
“Whilst today marks Seán’s second anniversary, we hope that it also marks a turning point in the quest for truth and justice for Private Seán Rooney,” the statement says.
It adds that the grief experienced by Pte Rooney’s family “has been compounded by the disrespect and discourtesy demonstrated by those within the UN, who to date, have not provided our client with the necessary information to allow the Inquest to proceed, so the truth can be established.”
In reference to Pte Rooney’s mother, Natasha Rooney-McCloskey, Phoenix Law said “our client’s grief is only outweighed by her pride in her late son who paid the ultimate price, to save others.”
“He will forever be remembered for his bravery and courage. It appears that such bravery is hereditary, in that Seán’s mother has shown the ultimate courage in speaking truth to power, in holding those responsible to account.”
Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Micheal Martin also released a statement marking Pte Rooney’s death.
“No words can ease the pain of losing a loved one, particularly under such shocking and unacceptable circumstances, but I and the country stand united with Seán’s family in their grief,” he said.
“Ireland remains deeply grateful for Seán’s service, courage and the commitment he showed and the legacy he leaves behind.”
“Since the events of December 2022, I have consistently expressed both my and the Government’s determination that all of the facts and circumstances of the incident are fully established. No stone should be left unturned to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.”
“The Government and I will continue to press the UN via diplomatic channels regarding the release of the UN reports to the family,” he added.
Despite such commitments and efforts, many questions remain.
What is known about the incident that led to the attack?
On the night of 14 December 2022, Pte Rooney was driving a UN-marked armoured SUV-type vehicle which was travelling as part of a two-vehicle convoy on an administrative run to Beirut Airport from the Irish UN base, Camp Shamrock. Four soldiers were in each SUV.
It is unclear why, but the vehicle driven by Pte Rooney became separated from the other and ended up in a town called Al-Aqbiya off the most direct route to Beirut.
Footage circulated from the incident shows a hostile crowd in the town surrounded the vehicle, at which point Pte Rooney took evasive action. He accelerated gradually to move through the crowd, then quickly once individuals had moved out of the way.
As he did so, gunfire erupted. More than 25 shots were fired, damaging armour plating and bulletproof glass on the vehicle. The vehicle then crashed at high speed approximately 100 metres beyond the gathered crowd.
At least one of the rounds fired entered the vehicle, killing Pte Rooney. It is not known when exactly the shot was fired.
Another Irish soldier, Trooper Shane Kearney, then aged 22, received a significant head injury in the crash. He was airlifted back to Ireland in the period after the attack.
The two other Irish peacekeepers on board received minor injuries.
According to Mr Mackin, the questions Pte Rooney’s family want answered are not “about blame, but learning lessons.”
At a hearing of the coroner’s court in October, he asked how “a 24-year-old with no United Nations driving licence had been allowed to be 13km to 16km from his convoy on a route not taken before.”
He said there were “also questions about the vehicles that were being used.”
Since then, the Irish Mail on Sunday has reported obtaining documents which say “key equipment failures” in the vehicle carrying the Irish peacekeepers may have contributed to Pte Rooney’s death.
The newspaper said it has seen documents saying there was “a known problem with the locking mechanism to the back door,” and raised questions about the sat-nav system in the vehicle.
At the UN press briefing in New York on Thursday, RTÉ put questions about the reporting on issues with the vehicles to Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the Secretary General.
He said he had seen the reports, but he had no further information related to them at that time, adding that he would endeavor to find out more.
In the aftermath of the attack, two UN reports were compiled. One was conducted by staff at the UN mission in Lebanon, UNIFIL, and the other is a UN ‘Board of Inquiry.’
Relatives of Pte Rooney have been shown a redacted copy of the UNIFIL report but have not been given a copy of it.
They have not seen the Board of Inquiry report, despite requests. It is the document the UN Secretary-General’s spokesperson pledged to provide more details on earlier this week.
Mr Dujarric refused to be drawn on whether the Irish Government even had the permission to share the information it currently has with Pte Rooney’s family.
Lebanon’s military court
A military court in Lebanon has since indicted seven men in relation to the attack. It said all were either members of Hezbollah or another allied group, Amal.
According to the indictment documents, in footage from the scene men were heard declaring “we are from Hezbollah,” and speaking into walkie-talkies.
Hezbollah denied involvement in the attack, saying the attackers were local people not linked to them.
Only one of seven men charged in relation to the incident, Mohammad Ayyad, the main suspect, has ever been detained. He was subsequently released for health reasons.
At the most recent hearing, in June 2024, a lawyer for Mr Ayyad said he could not attend as he was receiving treatment in a hospital in Toul, in the south of the country.
The others accused were deemed fugitives, and the case put back for trial in absentia in February 2025.
Since then, Israeli forces have entered southern Lebanon and hundreds of thousands of people have fled.
The wider picture
RTÉ spoke to sources to try to understand why a single UN vehicle carrying lightly armed personnel, in a town in Lebanon’s UNIFIL zone, would be surrounded and fired upon.
None could provide answers.
United Nations officials on the ground in Lebanon said that disinformation which circulates constantly about peacekeeping activities may have played a role in heightened tension in Hezbollah-controlled towns.
Kandice Ardiel, Deputy Chief of Strategic Communications with UNIFIL, said “persistent rumours” about UNIFIL activities in Southern Lebanon drove “a misapprehension that these peacekeepers – who were doing a completely innocent activity – were doing something wrong.”
“They were not doing anything wrong,” Ms Ardiel said “but the perception was there and because of these suspicions, I think it led to some heated exchanges, and it ultimately led to that tragic incident in which Pte Rooney was killed.”
UN peacekeepers have long been painted by commentators and Hezbollah-affiliated media as operating on behalf of Israel.
Most directly, several months after Pte Rooney was killed, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah described UNIFIL as an “armed foreign force operating on Lebanese soil” and a “spy for Israel.”
“We see these rumours appearing everywhere,” Ms Ardiel said. “These misapprehensions, these suspicions are deep-rooted. Disinformation is a very, very difficult problem.”
“If those rumours had not been had not been so persistent and generated such emotion, you know, I don’t want to speculate on what might have happened, but I would have hoped there would have been a different outcome from that,” she added.
Answers needed
It is now two years since the death of Pte Rooney. His mother is still awaiting answers. Come his third anniversary, the coroner’s inquest should be completed, the senior counsel-led inquiry in Ireland should have concluded.
In Lebanon, justice and bureaucracy moves even more slowly.
In a statement, the UN’s Department of Peace Operations said they continue, “to advocate for accountability with the Lebanese authorities for this tragic case and other cases of attacks against UNIFIL.”
“Private Rooney was serving under the UN flag wearing a blue beret. He was one of us. And we will do whatever we can to help in this investigation.”
Private Rooney’s family awaits.
