Lyra McKee

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Lyra McKee (2017)

Lyra Catherine McKee (born March 31, 1990 in Belfast , † April 18, 2019 in Derry ) was a Northern Irish journalist who mainly dealt with the effects of the Northern Ireland conflict. In 2019 McKee was shot dead by a member of the " New IRA " in the context of militant clashes with the police in Derry , which confessed to the crime and regretted the accidental killing of McKee. Her death caused consternation well beyond Northern Ireland.

Life

Youth and education

Lyra McKee was born on March 31, 1990 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. She began to be interested in journalism in her youth, at the age of 14 she wrote for the school newspaper of the St Gemma's High School, which she attended . At the age of 15 she started working for the charitable organization Children's Express (later Headliners), which primarily teaches journalism skills to young people. McKee later attended Birmingham City University and completed her degree in online journalism with a Masters.

Journalistic career

In 2014, McKee first received more attention after posting a blog post entitled "Letter to my 14-year-old self" describing the difficulty as a gay person in Belfast to grow up. This blog post was later produced as a short film.

McKee worked as a freelance journalist for a wide variety of media. She has written for Mosaic Science, The Belfast Telegraph , Private Eye and Buzzfeed News, among others . She also worked for the media aggregator Mediagazer . In 2016 Forbes magazine named McKee in their list "30 under 30 in media" because of their excellent investigative journalistic work. McKee wrote mainly about the long-term consequences of the Northern Ireland conflict, which in the English context are only called "The Troubles" (The Troubles). Among other things, she published an article entitled "Suicide of the Ceasefire Babies", in which she writes about a high number of teenage suicides in connection with the Northern Ireland conflict. She also referred to herself as the "child of the armistice".

In addition to her journalistic work, McKee worked as a book author; her first non-fiction book entitled "Angels with Blue Faces" was about to be published when she died. It deals with the murder of the Belfast deputies Robert Bradford by the Provisional IRA in 1981. McKee had arranged for the publication of a crowdfunding; the book is to be published by Excalibur Press . Furthermore, the publication of two further books was agreed with the Faber & Faber publishing house . The first was to investigate the disappearance of two schoolboys, Thomas Spence and John Rodgers, in the wake of the Northern Ireland conflict.

At the time of her death, McKee was investigating a number of unsolved murders in the wake of the Northern Ireland conflict.

Private

Lyra McKee lived in a domestic partnership with Sara Canning, a nurse at Altnagelvin Area Hospital. McKee had moved to Derry to live with her.

death

On April 18, 2019, Lyra McKee was shot dead during rioting in the Creggan neighborhood of Derry. The violence broke out after police confiscated ammunition ahead of the Easter Rising memorial parades . Most of the riots took place on Fanad Drive in the Creggan neighborhood. Teenagers dropped gasoline bombs and set two vehicles on fire. According to the police, a shooter then fired up to twelve shots at police officers. McKee, who was on Fanad Drive near an armored police vehicle, was wounded by the gunfire. Cell phone footage and police surveillance videos show a masked rifleman attributed to the “ New IRA ” opening fire with a pistol. McKee was taken to a hospital by police in an armored vehicle, where she died. The police assume that Republican dissidents, who had already carried out several attacks in previous years, were the perpetrators. In fact, after a few days, the "New IRA" took responsibility for the reporter's death and declared that "she was tragically killed while standing next to enemy forces". At the same time, the New IRA pronounced its “full and sincere apologies to the partner, family and friends of Lyra McKee for her death”. The last previous time a journalist was killed in the UK was the murder of Martin O'Hagan in 2001.

British Prime Minister Theresa May called the murder "shocking and senseless". She said McKee "died courageously doing her job." The Prime Minister of the Republic of Ireland Leo Varadkar said: “Our solidarity goes out also to the people of Derry and to all journalists. We cannot allow those who want to promote violence, fear and hatred to retreat to the past. "Irish President Michael D. Higgins said:" The death of a journalist is - at any time and in any part of the world - an attack on the truth itself. "

The leaders of Northern Ireland's main political parties, the DUP , Sinn Féin , UUP , SDLP , Alliance Party and Green Party , issued a joint statement condemning the McKee assassination and calling it "an attack on all people in this society, an attack on peace and democratic processes ”, saying it was“ a pointless and futile attempt to destroy the advances made over the past 20 years, which have overwhelming support from people everywhere ”. They also reaffirmed their support for the Northern Irish Police, who were the actual target of the gun attack.

A vigil at the site of her murder took place on April 19, 2019. A second vigil was held at Belfast City Hall .

On April 20, 2019, police arrested two men, aged 18 and 19, on suspicion of involvement in the McKee murder; however, the two men were released without charge the following day.

In a message published by The Irish News on April 23rd and verified by a recognized password, the New IRA admitted its perpetrators. McKee was accidentally shot because she was standing next to "enemy forces". The "New IRA" also asked friends and relatives of those killed for their deed for an apology ("offer full and sincere apologies") and announced that it would be more cautious in their actions against their opponents in the future. The group had previously been requested to do so by the Saoradh party .

McKee's funeral took place in Carnmoney, near Belfast, on April 24, 2019. At the previous memorial service in Belfast's St Anne's Cathedral , May, Varadkar and Higgins were attended by the British opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn and Northern Irish top politicians Arlene Foster (DUP) and Michelle O'Neill (Sinn Fein). The speech of a priest friend of McKee's was met with great applause. He praised a condemnation of the crime given by Foster and O'Neill together at the scene, but at the same time criticized the fact that the violent death of a 29-year-old woman was necessary for a joint appearance. Northern Ireland is in a deep state crisis: although the last parliamentary election in March 2017 was more than two years ago, unionists and republicans had not been able to agree on a joint government.

In February 2020, a 52-year-old man was arrested in Derry on charges of involvement by the PSNI in Lyra McKee's death and membership of the New IRA . Another search in Derry in July 2020 found the gun that killed McKee. DNA traces of a 32-year-old man could be found on this weapon, who was also arrested and brought to justice. A final judgment on the facts is still pending.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Northern Ireland journalist killed by gunman during riot . In: Reuters . April 19, 2019 ( reuters.com [accessed April 21, 2019]).
  2. ^ Telegraph Obituaries: Lyra McKee, investigative journalist who wrote fearlessly about her native Northern Ireland - obituary . In: The Telegraph . April 19, 2019, ISSN  0307-1235 ( telegraph.co.uk [accessed April 21, 2019]).
  3. ^ A b Rob Picheta CNN: She dedicated herself to covering Northern Ireland. Murdered investigative journalist 'tirelessly pursued the truth'. Retrieved April 21, 2019 .
  4. ^ North Belfast student wins national award. Retrieved April 21, 2019 (UK English).
  5. ^ Katie Brooks: Tributes paid to former Birmingham student Lyra McKee shot dead in Derry. April 19, 2019, accessed April 21, 2019 .
  6. ^ Letter to my 14 year old self - Short Film
  7. ↑ Rosita Bol: Lyra McKee on growing up gay in Belfast: 'I used to bargain with God not to send me to hell'. Retrieved April 21, 2019 .
  8. ^ The ceasefire suicides: Since the Good Friday Agreement, more people have died by taking their own lives than were killed in the Troubles. Why is this? And what can be done to prevent further deaths? In: BelfastTelegraph.co.uk . ISSN  0307-1235 ( belfasttelegraph.co.uk [accessed April 21, 2019]).
  9. ^ A b Lyra McKee: A rising star of investigative journalism . In: BelfastTelegraph.co.uk . ISSN  0307-1235 ( belfasttelegraph.co.uk [accessed April 21, 2019]).
  10. ^ Ralf Sotscheck: Northern Irish journalist Lyra McKee: An intrepid woman . In: The daily newspaper: taz . April 20, 2019, ISSN  0931-9085 ( taz.de [accessed April 21, 2019]).
  11. ^ Martin Doyle: Lyra McKee: Lost Girl of the Troubles. In: The Irish Times. April 19, 2019, accessed April 22, 2019 .
  12. ↑ Tina Calder: Press Statement - REF: Death of journalist Lyra McKee. In: Excalibur Press. April 19, 2019, Retrieved April 21, 2019 (American English).
  13. ↑ Murdered journalist's 'dreams snuffed out' . April 19, 2019 ( bbc.com [accessed April 21, 2019]).
  14. ^ Susan McKay: Lyra McKee didn't die in the cause of Irish 'freedom'. She was Irish freedom | Susan McKay . In: The Guardian . April 19, 2019, ISSN  0261-3077 ( theguardian.com [accessed April 21, 2019]).
  15. ↑ This is what happened last night during the violence in Derry. April 19, 2019, accessed April 21, 2019 .
  16. ^ "All the promise of Northern Ireland's post-conflict generation": a tribute to Lyra McKee. Retrieved April 21, 2019 .
  17. ↑ a b c d e f Journalist shot dead during Derry rioting . April 19, 2019 ( bbc.com [accessed April 21, 2019]).
  18. ^ Rory Carroll, Patrick Greenfield: Northern Irish police call for peace in name of killed journalist . In: The Guardian . April 19, 2019, ISSN  0261-3077 ( theguardian.com [accessed April 21, 2019]).
  19. ↑ Julia Smirnova: Murder of Lyra McKee in Northern Ireland: The IRA's Terror Legacies . April 20, 2019 ( welt.de [accessed April 21, 2019]).
  20. ↑ Arrest in the McKee murder case , deutschlandfunk.de, published and accessed on April 23, 2019.
  21. ↑ Connla Young: New IRA admits murder of journalist Lyra McKee and offers 'sincere apologies' , irishnews.com, published and accessed on April 23, 2019.
  22. ↑ Northern Ireland: Freelance journalist Lyra McKee shot dead during riots / IFJ. Retrieved April 21, 2019 .
  23. ^ Two men arrested over McKee killing . April 20, 2019 ( bbc.com [accessed April 21, 2019]).
  24. ↑ Lyra McKee murder: two teenagers arrested in connection with shooting . In: BelfastTelegraph.co.uk . ISSN  0307-1235 ( belfasttelegraph.co.uk [accessed April 21, 2019]).
  25. ↑ Murder of Lyra McKee: Police release arrested teenagers , tagesspiegel.de , published and accessed on April 21, 2019.
  26. ↑ New IRA confesses to murder of journalist in Northern Ireland Zeit Online , April 23, 2019, accessed on the same day.
  27. ^ New IRA admits murder of journalist Lyra McKee and offers "sincere apologies". The Irish News, April 23, 2019, accessed the same day.
  28. ↑ Peter Mühlbauer: New IRA: "A street gang that uses the Republican cause". Telepolis , April 25, 2019, accessed the same day.
  29. ↑ Markus M. Haefliger: Northern Ireland united in mourning. NZZ , April 24, 2019, accessed on the same day.
  30. ^ Protesters and police clash at McKee murder hearing . In: BBC News . February 13, 2020 ( bbc.com [accessed July 22, 2020]).
  31. ↑ Man denies possessing Lyra McKee murder gun . In: BBC News . July 16, 2020 ( bbc.com [accessed July 22, 2020]).
  32. ^ Seamus McKinney and PA: Man charged following Bogside search linked to McKee murder. July 16, 2020, accessed on July 22, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME McKee, Lyra
ALTERNATIVE NAMES McKee, Lyra Catherine (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Northern Irish journalist
DATE OF BIRTH March 31, 1990
PLACE OF BIRTH Belfast
DATE OF DEATH April 18, 2019
Place of death Derry