Journalists across Britain and Ireland have marked a year since the murder of Lyra McKee, who was shot dead in Derry by a dissident republican activist as she observed a violent clash between the New IRA and the police.
“The greatest tribute we can pay Lyra is to find ways to encourage and promote the kind of imaginative, insightful and brave journalism for which she will be remembered,” said Michelle Stanistreet, the general secretary of the National Union of Journalists.
McKee’s former colleagues and friends posted the hashtag #WeStandWithLyra on social media to commemorate her life, as NUJ members joined yesterday, “in solidarity and remembrance”, to formally celebrate the 29-year-old’s journalistic legacy.
“Lyra was a journalist who represented the best of Northern Ireland with a future ahead that reflected her optimism, her confidence, her ambition and her strong sense of social justice and commitment to equality,” added Stanistreet. “As we remember Lyra today, and think of her partner and family, we also think of journalists elsewhere who put their lives on the line when they get up and go to work each day.”
Referring to McKee as a journalist with “an unrivalled zest for life”, Seamus Dooley, the NUJ’s Irish secretary, said: “In her writings, in her approach to issues of poverty, equality and exclusion, Lyra was not afraid to ask the difficult question, to challenge the conventional and accepted wisdoms and to look for new and imaginative solutions to problems. That’s her legacy.
“What marked Lyra apart was her optimism, her unfailing good humour and her refusal to become cynical while fearlessly questioning the status quo. My thoughts are with Lyra’s partner, family and colleagues for whom her spirit remains an abiding presence.”
