She hit out at “fake news and false narratives”
The mother of a murdered Irish soldier has hit out at a “sham trial process” that has convicted an “untraceable” man who remains free despite being handed a death sentence.
Private Seán Rooney, a 24-year-old from Newtowncunningham in Co Donegal, was killed when the armoured UN vehicle he was in came under fire while travelling to Beirut on 14 December 2022. He was the first Irish soldier to die while on UN peacekeeping duty in Lebanon for more than 20 years.
A man named Mohammad Ayyad was convicted for the killing and sentenced to death by a Lebanese court – but he has not been seen since he was freed from custody on medical grounds last year and didn’t appear in court when he was sentenced last Monday.
Read more: Irish peacekeeping soldier Sean Rooney killed in Lebanon a “national hero”, funeral hears
Read more: Family of private Sean Rooney still waiting for answers two years after murder
The mother of Sean Rooney, Mrs Natasha Rooney, has now hit out at “fake news and false narratives” and what she described as a “sham trial process”.
In a statement issued through her legal representatives at the firm Phoenix Law, Mrs Rooney also slammed the response from the Irish government.
“I lost my son, Private Seán Rooney, on 14th December 2022,” she said. “Whilst Sean was a brave and courageous Soldier, he was also a much-loved son, brother, fiancée and friend. Whilst no Court case or litigation can bring Seán back, the truth and justice for his murder is the very least he deserves. Whilst I am restricted in what I can say due to the live proceedings, I cannot sit idly by and let the truth get lost in the hysteria.
“What happened in Lebanon was not justice. What happened in Lebanon is unreflective of what we regard as a trial process. The trial into the murder of my son was heard and determined in less than half a day. Not only was justice not done, it was not seen to be done, with little to no information being disclosed or challenged in open Court. Instead, we are forced to believe the answers provided by a Lebanese justice system which from the outset has failed to hold those responsible to account.”
She continued: “As a family, we wish to express our extreme disappointment and heartbreak at the recent Court proceedings in Lebanon. The proceedings, originally scheduled for September 2025, were brought forward with minimal notice causing unforeseen pressures. The unforeseen expedition has been credited in some quarters as a testament to diplomatic pressures. To others, it is difficult to avoid the conclusive coincidence that the expediting of the trial process comes at the critical time the UN Mandate comes for renewal.
“From the outset, Seán’s legacy has been tarnished with fake news and false narratives. In the immediate aftermath, in what we believe was a concerted effort to shift the focus, the misnomer of a ‘wrong turn’ was perpetuated. The reality behind that narrative was very different. Over two years on, and we again have been left to unpick the jigsaw of illusion from the factual reality.”
The grieving mother continued: “The factual reality here is that the perpetrator who has been convicted for my son’s murder has been untraceable and untraced for many years. Not only did he not appear for his trial, but it is clear that he might never appear. The verdict in reality is nothing more than a headline to the Lebanese authorities who masquerade this sham trial process as a semblance of justice for my son.
“In what other country would accomplices to the murder of a peacekeeping soldier be sentenced to monetary fines. To the Lebanese Courts, assisting in the murder of my son is worth nothing more than 1200 dollars. Whilst hurt and disappointed, I expected nothing less from a Government that is run hand in glove with a terrorist organisation.”
On the response from the Irish government, she said: “I did however expect more from the very country to whom my son died wearing with pride his native flag. You would be forgiven for reading the Irish Government’s response as one of victory for justice. Again whilst such utterances are disappointing, they are unsurprising. In a Country where victims’ rights ought to be paramount, it would perhaps be wise for the Tánaiste to speak to me, before seeking to speak for me, in his public statements.
“Regrettably this approach is symptomatic of the problems we face in this Country whereby when in November 2024, just days after exiting Government buildings, flags were erected on the very same street endorsing the organisation that killed my son, alongside that of the tricolour, the very country he died in its name.
“I am however not angry. I am determined. My son died trying to protect his three comrades as he made all efforts to escape an armed gang who had surrounded their vehicle and fired their shots. He dedicated his entire life to protect those of his three friends.”
The statement added: “In his name, I will dedicate every bone in my body to ensure justice for Seán, and to highlight the uncomfortable truths about the systematic failings by the United Nations, the Irish Defence Forces and the Lebanese Justice system. That is the very least I owe my son Sean. It is the very least I owe Sean’s comrades. And it is the very least the Irish Justice system owe us all.”
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