Additional documentation related to the 2022 killing of Irish peacekeeper Private Seán Rooney has been provided by the United Nations to Irish authorities in recent weeks, a UN diplomatic source has confirmed.
The documents were given to the Irish UN permanent mission in New York on a USB storage drive, as part of a response to a request from the Dublin City Coroner's Court.
Prime Time understands that on the drive is a partially redacted copy of a UN 'Board of Inquiry’ report, which was completed in April 2023, as well as other reports and documentation.
At a hearing of the Coroner’s Court in July 2024, a barrister for the Irish Department of Defence said there was uncertainty about whether the Board of Inquiry report could be made available to a public inquiry like an inquest.
The family of Private Rooney have previously been shown a copy of another UN report but say they have never been given sight of the Board of Inquiry report.
In a statement issued in December marking the second anniversary of Private Rooney’s killing, the family’s legal representative Darragh Mackin called on UN officials to release "the necessary information to allow the inquest to proceed, so the truth can be established."
He said the grief experienced by Private Rooney's family, including his mother Natasha Rooney-McCluskey, "has been compounded by the disrespect and discourtesy demonstrated by those within the UN."
In response to questions from RTÉ at the time, the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General said further information was ‘in the pipeline.’
On the recent provision of the USB drive, a UN diplomat with knowledge of the Private Rooney case said "we are fully committed to supporting the related judicial investigations and have provided all relevant material to the Irish authorities and the family of Pte Rooney. We have been in regular contact with the Irish authorities in this regard."
"Similarly, the UN continues to engage closely with the Lebanese authorities in support of the ongoing judicial process in Lebanon," they added.
24-year-old Private Rooney from Newtowncunningham in Donegal was killed when the armoured vehicle he was driving from South Lebanon to Beirut came under fire from a hostile group in the village of Al-Aqbiyah.
Read more: Two years on, family of Private Seán Rooney still awaits answers
The coroner’s inquest is one of several inquiries ongoing into the attack on Private Rooney and his colleagues on the night of 14 December 2022.
As well as the two UN reports, investigations by the Defence Forces and An Garda Síochána have also been completed.
In November, the government also appointed Senior Counsel Michael Delaney to conduct an independent inquiry into the attack on the convoy.
That is expected to conclude later this year, and will assess "the training and briefing of Defence Forces personnel, the planning of the convoy, and the Standard Operating Procedures, Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures surrounding the incident."
A military court in Lebanon has indicted seven men in relation to the attack. It previously said all were either members of Hezbollah or another allied group, Amal.
Hezbollah denied involvement in the attack, saying the attackers were local people not linked to them.
Only one of the seven men charged in relation to the incident, Mohammad Ayyad, the main suspect, has ever been detained. He was subsequently released for health reasons.
The others accused were deemed fugitives and are expected to face trial in absentia.
