The body of an Irish soldier who was accidentally killed by a comrade in East Timor last week was flown home today.
Private Peadar Flaherty (21) from Lettermore, Co Galway died when a colleague's weapon was accidentally fired during a patrol last Monday.
His family are holding a wake at their home tonight and Pte Flaherty will be buried with full military honours on Tuesday.
He had been on peacekeeping duties with the United Nations Transitional Administration in east Timor (UNTAET) when he died. His unit of 11 soldiers had been setting up camp in a village, during a long-range patrol when he was accidentally shot in the head.
Around 40 Irish troops of the First Battalion are operating in the territory as part of a New Zealand contingent.
They are maintaining a UN-brokered peace after a 1999 vote by the East Timorese for independence from Indonesia led to bloody attacks by Indonesian militias.
PA