The Defence Forces has requested that parts of an inquest into the death of Pte Seán Rooney in Lebanon be held in private after disclosing “extremely sensitive” information to the coroner.
A preliminary hearing on Friday was told that materials received by coroner Dr Myra Cullinane relating to the death, and disclosed to Pte Rooney’s family, contain redactions “in light of operational security and force protection”.
Pte Rooney (24), from Newtowncunningham, Co Donegal, was killed in an attack on a convoy of Irish peacekeepers in Al-Aqbiya while on a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) deployment in December 2022.
Dr Cullinane said the Defence Forces had expressed concern about putting “extremely sensitive” material and information included in the documents into the public domain during inquest hearings.
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The Defence Forces argued this would elevate operational risks to personnel deployed to the Unifil mission.
Dr Cullinane said some of the “very sensitive aspects of the documentation” she now holds could be quite relevant to her inquiry.
While acknowledging the need for a public inquiry, Remy Farrell SC, for the Defence Forces and Minister for Defence, highlighted the risk posed to personnel currently serving.
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He suggested the court go into in-camera sessions for certain sensitive evidence. However, Dr Cullinane said she would need to be satisfied it is “lawful to do so”, noting that such a provision is not referred to in “any of the statute” in relation to the coroner’s court.
Seán Guerin SC, for the Rooney family, said force protection was a matter “very close to the heart” of his clients, though he described the public nature of inquests as “an important part of the coroner’s function”.
Mr Guerin said it was not yet possible for the family to be definitive in its position. However, he expected it to adopt the view of the court should some matters be deemed not suitable for public hearing even if it was legal.
Mr Guerin asked to be furnished with reasons for each redaction in the documents. Dr Cullinane said her impression was that “anything touching” the “most sensitive issue raised” had been redacted.
The coroner sought written submissions from both parties concerning the manner in which sensitive evidence could be heard and adjourned the inquest until later this month.
Separately, Dr Cullinane told the court she had received materials from the United Nations (UN) and was permitted to disclose these to both parties on the condition that they be retained for the use of the inquest and not disclosed further.
A previous sitting heard the UN had carried out “substantial” and “significant” investigations into the events surrounding the killing of Pte Rooney but the international body considered the reports “confidential”.
During a previous hearing, counsel for the family said they wanted to dispel “the noxious narrative” that Pte Rooney “took a wrong turn” while driving a UN vehicle before the attack.
Pte Rooney was killed by gunfire when his armoured vehicle was ambushed as it drove north through Al-Aqbiya, a town controlled by the Iran-backed militant group Hizbullah.
One man, Mohammad Ayyad, was later arrested and detained for allegedly taking part in the attack. He spent a year in detention before being freed by a Lebanese military court on medical grounds. He failed to turn up at subsequent hearings.
Four other accused have never appeared in court and their location is unknown.
Earlier this year, Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Simon Harris expressed “deep disappointment and dissatisfaction at the slow progress of the legal proceedings” in Lebanon.
