Taoiseach to raise case of slain Unifil soldier Private Seán Rooney during Lebanon trip

A photo of Pte Seán Rooney among floral tributes during his funeral Mass at the Church of the Holy Family, Dundalk, in December 2022. The 24-year-old soldier and UN peacekeeper was killed when his convoy came under attack in Lebanon. Picture: Colin Keegan/Collins 

Taoiseach Micheál Martin is to raise the case of the late Irish peacekeeper Private Seán Rooney, who was killed three years ago this month, with Lebanon's prime minister Nawaf Salam during an official visit to Lebanon today.

Pte Rooney, a 24-year-old Dundalk native who had been based in Co Donegal, was shot dead on December 14, 2002, when the UN convoy he was travelling with came under fire in Al‑Aqbiya, a South Lebanon village which is a Hezbollah stronghold.