Killing of Lyra McKee

Lyra Catherine McKee was a journalist from Northern Ireland, born in Belfast on 31 March 1990, whose work examined the consequences of the Troubles. She joined the news aggregator Mediagazer in 2011, wrote for publications including Mosaic, The Belfast Telegraph, Private Eye and BuzzFeed News, and was named in Forbes' 2016 "30 under 30 in media" list. Her 2014 blog post "Letter to my 14-year-old self", about growing up gay in Belfast, brought her wider attention. She had moved to Derry to be with her partner and, at the time of her death, was researching unsolved killings from the late twentieth century; her first book, Angels with Blue Faces, was about to be published.

On the evening of 18 April 2019, rioting broke out in the Creggan area of Derry after police raids aimed at seizing munitions ahead of Easter Rising commemorations. On Fanad Drive, petrol bombs were thrown at police and vehicles were set alight, and a masked gunman fired shots toward officers. McKee, 29, who was standing near an armoured police Land Rover observing the disturbances, was struck in the head. Police took her to Altnagelvin Area Hospital, where she died.

On 23 April 2019 The Irish News reported that the New IRA had admitted responsibility and said McKee had not been its intended target. Her funeral took place at St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast, on 24 April and was attended by British Prime Minister Theresa May, Irish President Michael D. Higgins and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland made a series of arrests. A 52-year-old man was charged with murder in February 2020. In June 2020 police recovered the pistol in the Ballymagroarty area of Derry; in September 2022 a man was sentenced to seven years in prison for possessing the gun, but not for any involvement in McKee's death. In March 2023 two men appeared in court charged with her murder, with possessing a handgun and ammunition with intent, and with riot-related offences.

A non-jury trial began at Belfast Crown Court on 30 May 2024 before Mrs Justice Patricia Smyth, sitting under the Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Act 2007. Three men were tried for her murder; the prosecution's case was that they had accompanied the gunman and encouraged or assisted him, and none of the three was charged with firing the shot. On 3 July 2026 the judge acquitted all three of murder, finding the circumstantial evidence insufficient for a conviction. Of six other men tried alongside them on riot-related charges, one was convicted of rioting and petrol-bomb offences, another of common assault, and the remaining four were acquitted.

No one has been charged with firing the shot that killed McKee. Her sister, Nichola Corner, described the verdicts as "a complete and utter shock" and said the justice system had failed Lyra, her family and Northern Ireland. A collection of McKee's writing, Lost, Found, Remembered, was published after her death, and in May 2025 a stained-glass window featuring her was unveiled at Belfast City Hall.