Lyra McKee

Lyra Catherine McKee (; 31 March 1990 – 18 April 2019) was a journalist from Northern Ireland who wrote for several publications about the consequences of the Troubles. She also served as an editor for Mediagazer, a news aggregator website. On 18 April 2019, McKee was fatally shot while observing rioting in the Creggan area of Derry.

Early life and education Lyra Catherine McKee was born on 31 March 1990 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Her interest in journalism began at the age of 14 when she wrote for the school newspaper The following year she joined Headliners, a charity that supports young people by helping them develop journalism skills, and through this was awarded the Young Journalist Award by Sky News in 2006. pursuing a Master of Arts degree but did not graduate. She was posthumously awarded an MA in online journalism in January 2020, with her sister, Nichola, accepting the degree on her behalf.

Career In 2011, McKee joined the staff of the news aggregator Mediagazer, a sister site of the technology news aggregator Techmeme. In 2014, she came to wider public attention with the publication of her blog post titled "Letter to my 14-year-old self", in which she described the challenges of growing up gay in Belfast; it was later made into a short film. Her journalism appeared in both domestic and international media, (republished by The Atlantic), The Belfast Telegraph, Private Eye and BuzzFeed News. In 2016, Forbes named her among its "30 under 30 in media" for her work as an investigative reporter. The non-fiction work examines the Provisional IRA killing of Belfast MP Robert Bradford. McKee sought crowdfunding to finance its publication, and it was scheduled to be released by Excalibur Press. She subsequently signed a two-book deal with Faber and Faber. but remained unfinished. A collection of her writing Lost, Found, Remembered was posthumously published in 2021.

McKee wrote on the consequences of The Troubles, including "Suicide of the Ceasefire Babies", an article on teenage suicides linked to the conflict. At the time of her death, she was researching unsolved killings from the late 20th century in Northern Ireland. In March 2019, Irish Times writer Martin Doyle featured her in his article "Best of Irish: 10 rising stars of Irish writing".

She gave a TEDx talk, "How uncomfortable conversations can save lives", at TEDxStormont Women in 2017, addressing the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting. After her death, it was revealed that she had been planning to propose marriage to Canning and had purchased an engagement ring. Violence broke out after police raids on dissidents aimed at seizing munitions ahead of the Easter Rising commemorative parades due to take place in the area that weekend. The disturbances were centred on Fanad Drive, where youths threw petrol bombs and burnt two vehicles. Police said that a gunman then fired up to 12 shots towards officers. McKee, who was standing near an armoured police Land Rover on Fanad Drive, was wounded in the head. Mobile phone and police CCTV footage shows a masked gunman, believed to be a member of the New IRA, opening fire with a handgun. The last journalist killed in the UK had been Martin O'Hagan in 2001.

Funeral and vigils McKee's funeral took place at the Anglican St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast, on 24 April. It was attended by British Prime Minister Theresa May, Irish President Michael D. Higgins, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, DUP leader Arlene Foster, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald, Sinn Féin Vice President Michelle O'Neill and Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn. Members of the National Union of Journalists formed a guard of honour,

A vigil at the site of her killing held on 19 April was attended by Colum Eastwood, Arlene Foster, Naomi Long and Mary Lou McDonald. A second vigil was held at Belfast City Hall, attended by author Anna Burns and John O'Doherty of the Rainbow Project, an LGBT rights charity in Northern Ireland. Other public figures to express condolences included Karen Bradley, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and former US President Bill Clinton. Séamus Dooley, assistant general secretary of the National Union of Journalists in Northern Ireland, described her as "a journalist of courage, style and integrity". On the same day, police arrested two men, aged 18 and 19, on suspicion of involvement in McKee's killing. They were released without charge the following day. On 23 April, The Irish News reported that the New IRA had admitted responsibility, stated that McKee was not the intended target, and offered apologies to her family and partner. Police arrested a 57-year-old woman the same day; she was later released unconditionally.

On 25 April, the charity Crimestoppers offered a reward of up to £10,000 for information leading to the conviction of those responsible. On 1 May, the PSNI confirmed it would offer anonymity to any witnesses who came forward.

Leona O’Neill, a Derry journalist who witnessed and wrote about the killing, later received online threats alleging that she was responsible or had fabricated her account.

On 11 February 2020, four men, aged 20, 27, 29 and 52 were arrested under the Terrorism Act in Derry. A 52-year-old man was charged with McKee's murder the following day. In early June 2020, police recovered the weapon, a Hämmerli X-Esse .22 LR pistol, from the Ballymagroarty area of Derry. Niall Sheerin, a 28-year-old man from Derry, was subsequently charged with possessing a firearm in suspicious circumstances and possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life; he denied the charges. In a 2021 statement to the Belfast High Court, the prosecution said the gun had been used in four paramilitary attacks between September 2018 and March 2019. The trial began on 30 May 2024, with three men charged with McKee's murder. On 3 July 2026, they were found not guilty. No-one has yet been charged with firing the shot which killed McKee.

Television McKee, and her friends' efforts to secure a conviction after her death, are the subject of The Real Derry Girls, a documentary by Peter Taylor for the BBC.

In November 2022, the film Lyra, directed by Alison Millar, a mentor and friend to McKee, was screened in UK and Irish cinemas, and broadcast on Channel 4 in April 2023. It received the Tim Hetherington award at the Sheffield Documentary Festival and the audience award at the Cork Film Festival.

In August 2026, The Murder Detective, a midweek three-part true crime Channel 4 TV documentary, by James W Newton, follows the Welsh-born man in charge of the Lyra McKee case, and head of major investigations for Police Service of Northern Ireland, Jason Murphy's seven-year investigation of the CCTV footage of the murder scene, and footage for a documentary for MTV about Saoradh, featuring Reggie Yates.

Songs The band The Young'uns paid tribute to McKee in a song on their 2023 album Tiny Notes.

Irish singer Christy Moore included a song titled "Lyra McKee" on his 2024 album A Terrible Beauty; it was written by Dublin-born songwriter James Cramer.