Private Rooney's family to see UN report into his death

Information not yet given to the family of Private Seán Rooney regarding his death will soon be made available to them, a spokesman for the UN Secretary General has said.

Private Rooney, who was serving with the UN peacekeeping force in Southern Lebanon, was killed after the vehicle he was driving came under fire in in December 2022.

The shooting happened near the town of Al-Aqbiya in the south of Lebanon, a stronghold of Hezbollah.

His family had previously expressed frustration that the UN had failed to respond to a request for information from the Dublin coroner conducting an inquest.

A report of a UN investigation, called a Board of Inquiry, into Pte Rooney’s death, was given to the Irish government last year on the strict condition that it not be shared with any third parties,

Subsequent requests by the Irish authorities to release the report to his family were refused by the UN, according to a senior official at the Department of Defence.

Following several enquiries about the status of the document from RTÉ News, spokesperson for the Secretary General, Stephane Dujarric, said that while boards of inquiry remain internal documents, in this case that did not mean some information gathered could not be shared with relevant parties.

He said that more details would be forthcoming.