The mother of Private Seán Rooney, the soldier killed while serving with the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping force in Lebanon two years ago, has said that her decision to sue the UN is not about money but “about truth and accountability”.
Natasha Rooney was reacting to the outcome of a High Court hearing in Dublin on Tuesday, in which she was granted permission to issue proceedings against the UN, which has headquarters in New York, in the Irish courts.
Pte Rooney (24) from Newtowncunningham, Co Donegal, died when the armoured vehicle he was driving from south Lebanon to Beirut came under fire in December 2022.
In a statement to The Irish Times, Ms Rooney said her son was “failed” by authorities who “should have protected him” and she vowed to use “every court procedure available” to get answers about his death.
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She is suing for mental distress allegedly sustained by her and other members of the family as a result of the killing.
Legal proceedings against the Defence Forces, the Minister for Defence, Ireland and the Attorney General have already been initiated.
The family continues to seek details contained in a confidential UN report into his death.
“Seán’s case has never been about compensation or money – it is about the truth and accountability,” Ms Rooney said.
“Seán was failed by those who should have protected him. Despite numerous requests, I have still not been provided with the very basic documents from the United Nations from their investigations.
“I intend on using every court procedure available to me to ensure that the truth is told about Seán’s death, and that those who failed him are held accountable for their actions and omissions.”
Ms Rooney’s solicitor, Darragh Mackin, said she had been failed “time and time again” by the “very institutions that ought to have protected her son”.
“We make no apologies for pursuing every available legal avenue to seek the truth and justice for Private Seán Rooney,” he said in the statement.
Ray Motherway, for Ms Rooney, told the High Court on Tuesday that Pte Rooney lost his life in an ambush.
Mr Motherway said his side wanted leave to issue and serve proceedings on the UN.
[ Tánaiste voices ‘deep disappointment’ over Seán Rooney case in meeting with Lebanese counterparts ]
On December 14th, 2022, Pte Rooney was driving a UN-marked armoured SUV-type vehicle which was travelling as part of a two-vehicle convoy on an administrative run to Beirut Airport from the Irish UN base, Camp Shamrock. Four soldiers were in each SUV.
The vehicle driven by Pte Rooney became separated from the other one and ended up in a town called Al-Aqbiyah where it came under gunfire.
Central to the case against the UN is the allegation that UN officials allegedly ordered soldiers at the Irish base to stand down from going to assist as those officials believed other peacekeepers may have been closer.
In an affidavit grounding Ms Rooney’s application to sue the UN, Mr Mackin said Pte Rooney was on a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) deployment at the time of his death.
He said investigations by the Irish Defence Forces and a criminal prosecution in Lebanon were ongoing and that a verdict from the Dublin Coroner’s Court was awaited.
The State, he said, was an appropriate jurisdiction to hear and determine the intended proceedings as the balance of the intended defendants had their main offices here and witnesses were resident in Ireland.
It would also save on costs rather than having the dispute litigated in Lebanon or the US, the court heard.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin welcomed the High Court decision and said that “full transparency” was owed to the Rooney family.
“Natasha Rooney has gone through a terrible trauma in respect of the murder of her son Seán and we await the outcome of the trial in Lebanon,” he said.
“We have been very unhappy at the pace in which that trial has taken place, it’s been slow, and we’re looking for full accountability.
“We believe Hizbullah was primarily responsible for the death of Seán, but of course full accountability and full transparency is owed to the Rooney family.”
At Tuesday’s hearing, Mr Justice Paul Coffey accepted jurisdiction and granted permission to issue and serve a plenary summons on the UN in New York, which will have 42 days to enter an appearance in the case.
