Lyra McKee’s sister called the moment of an expired letter, reported by Sinn Fein, to a group accused of links to the dissident Republican group allegedly behind the journalist’s murder, “exploiting the tragedy for political purposes.”
Declan Kirney’s two-year letter from Sinn Fein refers to a potential “cooperation agreement” between Saorad and Sinn Fein to achieve a border study.
It was an attempt to “work for unity and change the constitutional position, but only with consent, only from the public working together”, according to Sinn Fein Vice President Michelle O’Neill, as she confirmed that Kearney had written a letter to Saorad .
However, Nicole McKee Corner, Lyra’s sister, called the expiration of the letter, at a time of division for Sinn Fein’s election campaign, an exploitation of Lyra’s murder.
In a statement, McKee Corner questioned the timing of the publication of this letter (given that it is more than two years old) and the links made with my murdered sister, and added that those responsible for its expiration “should hang I am ashamed that I used my beloved sister in this way. “
McKee Corner said he was aware of Sinn Fein’s efforts to encourage dissident Republican groups, including Saorad, to move away from violence and engage in the 2019 political process, and that this “encouragement has failed so far.”
She went on to call on Saorad and other dissident groups to “accept that the war is over” and that “they must give up violence once and for all”.
McKee, a promising young journalist from Northern Ireland who wrote about the aftermath of the trouble, was 29 when she was killed in Cragan, Derry, in 2019 after being hit by a bullet while reporting on violent clashes between the New IRA and police. . Since then, two men have been charged with her murder.
McKee’s partner, Sarah Cunningham, also expressed skepticism about the timing of the release, saying she was not surprised by the news of the letter and believed it was inevitable that there would be attempts to try to get Saorad “to some extent”.
“I’m not a fan of Sinn Fein, but that’s how things were done in the 1990s, and that’s how the violence ended here, we introduced people to the political sphere,” she told the BBC.
The release comes at a time described by O’Neill as “a moment in history and a moment for real change” – in a pre-election video posted on Twitter – polls suggest Sinn Fein will secure a majority in the upcoming assembly elections that would allow the party to nominate the first Republican First Minister in Northern Ireland.
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