London: British Prime Minister Theresa May and her Irish counterpart, Leo Varadkar, attended Wednesday’s funeral of journalist Lyra McKee, who was shot dead by suspected dissident republicans while observing rioting in Northern Ireland last week.
Father Martin Magill, a Catholic priest speaking at the service in the Anglican St Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast, urged people to make McKee’s death a “doorway to a new beginning” in Northern Ireland’s fragile peace process.
May and Varadkar were joined by the leaders of Northern Ireland’s main political parties and Irish President Michael D Higgins.
Magill commended the political leaders for “standing together”following McKee’s death in Derry/Londonderry late Thursday.
“I am, however, left with a question: Why in God’s name does it take the death of a 29-year-old woman with her whole life in front of her to get us to this point?” he said, receiving a standing ovation.
Police Service Northern Ireland said on Tuesday that a 57-year-oldwoman was arrested under anti-terrorism laws in connection with the shooting of McKee.
The New IRA, a splinter group of the former Irish Republican Army, admitted responsibility for McKee’s death in a letter to local media on Monday.
Ahead of the funeral, McKee’s family paid tribute to “a gentle, innocent soul who wouldn’t wish ill on anyone.”
“She was a smart, strong-minded woman who believed ... passionately in inclusivity, justice and truth,” the family said in a statement via their solicitors.
They asked people to “continue her message of positivity and hope,”adding that many people in Northern Ireland were “rightly angry”after her death.
“Lyra’s answer would have been simple: The only way to overcome hatred and intolerance is with love, understanding and kindness,” the family said.
British Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley told lawmakers on Tuesday that local politicians “need to take charge ... including in the vitally important area of tackling all forms of paramilitary activity.”
The unrest in the city came just before the Easter weekend, when republicans, who want to reunify Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland, traditionally mark the anniversary of the 1916 Easter Uprising. — dpa
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