Union leader says Lyra McKee killer will ‘in all likelihood’ evade justice

By Claudia Savage, Press Association

A media union leader has said “Northern Ireland is a place where you get away with murder” as he expressed regret that the man who fired the shot that killed journalist Lyra McKee will “in all likelihood” never be convicted.

Seamus Dooley, assistant general secretary of the NUJ, said Northern Ireland was “cruelly deprived” of a “great journalist with enormous talent” following the murder of Ms McKee in 2019.

On Friday, three men were found not guilty of murdering the 29-year-old who died after being hit by a bullet as she stood close to police vehicles while observing disturbances in the Creggan area of Londonderry.

Paul McIntyre, 58, of Kells Walk in Derry, Peter Cavanagh, 38, of Mary Street, and Jordan Gareth Devine, 25, of Bishop Street, faced a joint enterprise murder charge.

Speaking outside court, Mr Dooley said the union is “devastated” on behalf of Ms McKee’s family, and referred to the death of Martin O’Hagan, a Sunday World reporter who was shot dead by loyalists in Lurgan, Co Armagh, in September 2001.

“The judge did acknowledge that Lyra McKee was murdered,” he said.

“We knew that, and we wanted that conviction.

“She also acknowledged that the man who shot Lyra McKee – the man who fired that shot and cruelly deprived us of a young and talented journalist – has never been arrested, has never been convicted, and in all likelihood now never will be.

“So yet again in Northern Ireland, just as happened with Martin O’Hagan, we have a journalist who has been murdered, and Northern Ireland is a place where you get away with murder.”

Dooley further expressed disappointment that there was “no conviction” in relation to the riotous behaviour that occurred on the night McKee was killed.

“The ruling on that has severe implications for the citizens of any town or city under siege, and indeed for police,” he said.

“The right to protest is important. There is no right to put life at peril.”

The trade union leader also said there should be reflection “on the fact that there was a performative element to this riot”.

A television crew, including British presenter Reggie Yates, had been filming in the area with the republican organisation Saoradh for a documentary for MTV around the time Ms McKee was killed.

After filming around several Derry locations in the morning, they left the area before the shooting happened.

Dooley said: “Journalists must operate within an ethical framework, and in coming to any area, must bear significant ethical responsibilities for their actions and the potential for provoking reaction.

“And as we reflect on the many lessons from this, my view is that MTV and the way in which their presence may have contributed to what happened, requires reflection.”

Kevin Cooper, Belfast & District branch acting chair, also spoke to reporters outside court, saying: “We had a young, talented journalist shot on the streets of Northern Ireland, merely doing her job, as you yourselves are doing your job.”

He added: “We are reflecting that this is the second time Seamus and I have stood giving interviews about a member of our branch having been cruelly shot and killed in the doing of their work, and as a result of being working journalists, no more, no less.”

Cooper further stated: “The NUJ has been here before, and the NUJ sadly is here again today with no outcome.”

Dooley described Ms McKee as a “great journalist with enormous talent” who was “denied the right to grow old”.

“One aspect of Lyra’s journalism was her determination to struggle for hope, and particularly for the generation abused by older people, taking advantage of their disillusionment and putting them out on the streets and using them as fodder in pursuit of their ideology,” he said.

“And today, as I listened to the description again of what happened on that fateful night in Derry, I was reminded of that.

“But while we go away here disappointed, maybe disillusioned, the greatest legacy and the greatest tribute we can pay to her legacy is to continue her work.”