Council offer condolences to family of Pte Rooney

Tribute at recent council meeting.

Cavan County Council has formally offered their condolences to the family of the late Private Sean Rooney who was killed when his convoy came under attack in Lebanon just before Christmas.

The 24-year-old member of the Defence Forces from Newtowncunningham, Co Donegal was in 27 Infantry Battalion in Dundalk, members of which previously served at Dun Ui Neill Barracks in Cavan before its closure.

Sympathies were also expressed to Trooper Shane Kearney from Killeagh, Co Cork, who suffered a serious head injury in the same attack.

Two other peacekeepers were treated for minor injuries.

Condolences were shared by Cathaoirleach of Cavan County Council, John Paul Feeley, at the beginning of the January monthly meeting of elected members.

Fianna Fáil’s Patricia Walsh, whose family have a legacy of serving in the defence forces, with two sons having served on peace-keeping missions in both Kosovo and Lebanon, said she understood the “heartbreak” felt by the families of Pte Rooney, Kearney, and others.

“You always have that when they’re away,” she said. “They put their lives on the line.”

On Christmas Day Cllr Walsh said she sat at the dinner table with family but her thoughts were with the loved ones and friends of Pte Rooney, particularly his mother.

“I was heartbroken for her,” said Cllr Walsh.

She added that the wider defence force family were a “tight-knit community”, as shown by the fact that Pte Rooney’s body was accompanied on the flight home by a number of colleagues from 121 Infantry Battalion, including his company commander, who are understood to have never left his side.

“They will support each other,” she told the chamber.