Newtowncunningham mourns as Private Seán Rooney is laid to rest

Hundreds of people, both young and old, stood in the biting December cold to pay their respects to the much-loved young man, as his funeral cortege arrived in the village that he called his home.

Many spoke of how they knew Pte Rooney, who would explore his love of running along the local paths and how they also knew his family.

He was a valued member of the community, which has been left devastated by his death. Others told of their disbelief that, as thousands of people arrive home over the next few days for Christmas, Pte Rooney has sadly returned to his parents, family and fiancée, Holly, in such tragic and devastating circumstances.

The funeral procession arrived in Newtowncunningham from Dundalk, where Pte Rooney was based and where many of his family live, at around 3pm. Hundreds of people had also stood out in towns and villages along the route, to pay their respects.

The Derry to Letterkenny road, which would ordinarily be heavy with traffic just three days before Christmas, was now closed and quiet, as Pte Rooney’s coffin was transferred from the hearse to a gun carriage for a procession to the cemetery at All Saints Catholic Church.

An army band solemnly led the procession to the cemetery, followed by members of the defence forces and his devastated family and friends. Pte Rooney’s comrades carried his coffin to the graveside, where hundreds more gathered in sadness.

Again, there was silence – broken only by heart-wrenching sobbing – and as Father Derek Ryan said at Pte Rooney’s Requiem Mass in Dundalk on Thursday morning, language is ‘indeed insufficient to deal with the kind of grief we’re experiencing’.

A gun salute rang out across Newtowncunningham following Pte Rooney’s burial.

Irish President Michael D Higgins and government and party leaders stood alongside the community as Pte Rooney was laid to rest – a national hero, a beloved son, a much-loved big brother, a fiancé, grandson and a beloved member of his local community.