Lyra’s murder has appalled not just people across this city, but people around the world.
Those are the words of Deputy Chief Constable Stephen Martin who was speaking to media in Derry/Londonderry today.
Deputy Chief Constable Stephen Martin said a cruel twist in our history that 21 years ago on Good Friday, the majority of people in Northern Ireland signed up to the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, yet people are mourning the loss of a talented young journalist.
“First and foremost, I want to say that I share the thoughts of everyone who has expressed their sympathy to the family and loved ones of Lyra McKee – a young woman, aged just 29 whose life was taken in such an indiscriminate and senseless way last night in this city,” said Deputy Chief Constable Stephen Martin.
“Lyra’s murder at the hands of a gunman has been met with global condemnation, horror and revulsion.
“I should not be standing here today condemning the loss of a young life at the hands of evil people who have nothing to offer.
“The gunman and those who share his warped ideology should hang their heads in shame today – they represent no one.
“Lyra’s murder has appalled not just people across this city, but people around the world and there has been a global wave of shock and sympathy from her colleagues in journalism, politicians, church and community leaders,” he added.
“This is a dark day.”
He said there is no doubt that the people behind last night’s violence, who threw petrol bombs at officers, who hijacked and set on fire vehicles had one aim – they set out to kill and take the life of a police officer, but tragically they took the life of a young writer.
“We have now launched a murder investigation to find the gunman who murdered Lyra and bring those responsible for the orchestrated violence that has been shown on television screens around the world to justice,” he added.
And Deputy Chief Constable Stephen Martin has appealed directly to the people who know who carried out this murder, to come forward.
“You have to help make this madness stop. Please, pick up the phone and make a difference.
“As we move into the Easter weekend I would appeal for calm and ask everyone with influence in the community to work together to ensure there are no further acts of violence, the people who have influence I urge you to use it and do what you can – if we want to ensure we never experience another dark night where such a vibrant young life was taken – please do the right thing, and make this violence stop. Tell us what you know,” he added.
Please assist our investigation into the murder of Lyra McKee by uploading any footage you have to the Major Incident Public Portal via the following link: https://t.co/EL93YAAEMB pic.twitter.com/RNUlztCJre
— PSNI (@PoliceServiceNI) April 19, 2019
Lyra’s literary agent Will Francis said his client ‘was gifted, brave, kind and funny.’
“I’m proud to have been her literary agent. I started working with her after Chrissie Giles at Mosaic published Lyra’s extraordinary piece about the effect of the war in Northern Ireland on her generation, growing up in Belfast after the Good Friday Agreement.
“She wrote about the legacy of the Troubles, about a city haunted by its recent past, and did so with tremendous wit and insight. I sold her book, The Lost Boys, about the disappearance of children in Belfast in the 1970s, to Faber last year on the basis of a short proposal. In that document she wrote about growing up in a “conflict hotspot” in North Belfast, off the road known as the Murder Mile.
“She wrote “Many people have grown to dislike the use of the word “war” to describe what happened here. The term “The Conflict” became a more acceptable alternative, even if it made a 30-year battle sound like a lover’s tiff. It’s got the ring of a euphemism, the kind one might use to refer to a shameful family secret during a reunion lunch… I witnessed its last years, as armed campaigns died and gave way to an uneasy tension we natives of Northern Ireland have named “peace”, and I lived with its legacy, watching friends and family members cope with the trauma of what they could not forget.”
As William Faulkner wrote, the past isn’t dead. It’s not even past. We’ve lost a tremendous talent, and today I’m remembering Lyra, and thinking of her friends, her partner and her family.”