'He showed me what unconditional love is like'
- Published
An Irish soldier shot and killed while on UN peacekeeping duty in Lebanon was the “most wonderful, selfless person,” his fiancée has said.
Pte Seán Rooney, 24, from Newtowncunningham, Co Donegal, was in one of two armoured vehicles that came under fire while travelling to Beirut on Wednesday night.
He was pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital near Sidon.
He is the first Irish soldier to die on a UNIFIL mission in more than 20 years.
Pte Rooney was a “fantastic person to be with”, his fiancée Holly McConnellogue said.
His death came three years to the day since they first met, she told The Irish Times, external,
They planned to marry next August.
“He was one of the good ones, as they say: He taught me so much about myself," said the 22-year-old.
"He really showed me what unconditional love is like."
Surrounded by a 'hostile mob'
Pte Rooney and the three soldiers injured in the attack were members of the 121st Infantry Battalion, UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon).
It is understood the soldiers' armoured vehicle was surrounded by a mob and fired on while travelling to Beirut at around 21:00 on Wednesday.
Two armoured patrol vehicles had been on a standard administrative trip to Beirut, said Irish Defence Minister Simon Coveney.
"The two armoured vehicles effectively got separated, one of them got surrounded by a hostile mob.
"Shots were fired and unfortunately one of our peacekeepers was killed and another was very seriously injured," he told RTÉ radio.
UNIFIL is tasked with overseeing a fragile peace along the border between Lebanon and Israel.
It has been based in the south of Lebanon since 1978 although its mission widened after the 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon's political and militant Shia Muslim force Hezbollah.
A senior Hezbollah official, Wafiq Safa, said on Thursday an "unintentional incident" had led to the peacekeeper's death and that the armed group was not involved.
Flags in all military installations in Ireland will remain at half-mast until Pte Rooney is buried.
Ms McConnellogue said her fiancé was “the most wonderful, selfless person, who died doing what he loved”.
He was so passionate about his career in the Army and had come from a family with strong military links, she added.
His father and three uncles had also served in the army.
A minute’s silence to honour Pte Rooney was held at a meeting of the UN Security Council in New York on Thursday.
Arrangements are now being made to bring his body back to Ireland.
Speaking to BBC Radio Foyle, Donegal Fianna Fáil councillor Paul Canning, who knew Pte Rooney, said the local community was in total shock following his death.
“With the remains still being out in Lebanon, it is very difficult for his mother to comprehend what is happening,” he said.
The Irish government said an investigation was under way into the gun attack.
The Irish Defence Forces are sending a specialist team to examine all the circumstances leading up to the attack.
Their investigation will focus on how the vehicle became separated from its accompanying armoured vehicle.
It is understood the vehicles separated during a routine journey in an established UNIFL area of operations.
Pte Rooney's vehicle entered the village of Al-Aqbieh, where a crowd of locals had been watching Morocco play France in the World Cup.
UNIFIL is also investigating and said it was coordinating with the Lebanese Armed Forces to determine exactly what happened.
Speaking on Friday, Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Micheál Martin warned getting to the truth would be challenging.
"These investigations have to be very comprehensive. We are determined to get the truth," he said.
"The environment is difficult. The environment is challenging. And as we know, now, with the terrible cost, it's clearly a tense situation".
Mr Martin added: "It is a reminder of the extraordinary sacrifice our peacekeepers make on a constant basis. They operate in at hostile, at times very difficult and dangerous environments and we should be conscious of that.
Pte Rooney had previously been deployed to Lebanon in 2021, having joined the Irish Defence Forces in 2019.
The seriously injured soldier is Pte Shane Kearney, 22, from Killeagh in County Cork.