Posthumous UN award for Private Seán Rooney

Private Seán Rooney will be posthumously honoured by the United Nations in New York today.

The 23-year-old soldier was killed while serving in Lebanon in December.

He will be honoured with the Dag Hammarskjold medal.

At a ceremony in the UN General Assembly Hall, the Irish Ambassador to the United Nations, Fergal Mythen, will receive the medal on behalf of Private Rooney's family.

The presentation of the medal is part of a series of events that will mark the 75th anniversary of United Nations peacekeeping.

Ireland has contributed peacekeepers to UN missions since 1958 with almost 500 Irish personnel serving under the UN flag today.

They include the 67th Infantry Battalion who were recently deployed to Golan Heights in Syria.

Private Rooney was shot dead when the vehicle he was driving came under attack in the Al-Aqbieh area of south Lebanon on December 14.

Private Rooney was a native of Dundalk and had lived in Newtowncunningham for the last decade. A former student at St Eunan's College in Letterkenny, Private Rooney served with the 27th Infantry Battalion in Dundalk.

He was due to wed his fiancé Holly McConnellogue in August.

Micheál Martin, the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence, has vowed that those responsible for the death of Private Rooney will be brought to justice.

At Finner Camp in March, he said: “It showed the tragedy and suffering that war and conflict can bring. I want to assure Private Rooney’s family that the Government is determined that all facts and circumstances of the incident will be fully established.

“I have been with Private Rooney’s colleagues in Lebanon and I have assured them, as I assure you, that no stone will be left unturned to ensure that those responsible will be brought to justice.”