A man was sentenced to seven years in prison on Wednesday (September 14) for possession of the murder weapon of journalist Lyra McKee, killed in 2019 while covering clashes in Londonderry, Northern Ireland.
In addition to this prison sentence, five years of suspended prison sentence were pronounced against Niall Sheerin, 29 years old, by justice in Belfast.
Confounded by his DNA, he had pleaded guilty to the offenses of possession of weapons and ammunition with intent to allow others to endanger life.
The weapon, a 22-caliber Hammerli X-Esse pistol, was found wrapped in plastic bags in a hollow behind a pole in Londonderry in 2020, along with bullets and a weapons magazine.
Weapon held for “a short period”
Ballistics analyzes concluded that the weapon had been used five times in the Northern Irish city in the 21 months before, including on April 18, 2019 to fatally strike the 29-year-old journalist.
At a previous hearing, the defendant's lawyer had argued that he was unaware of the use that had been made of the weapon, claiming that he had only held it for a "
short period
".
The New IRA, a Republican dissident group, has admitted responsibility for the death of Lyra McKee.
Presenting "
its sincere and complete apologies
" to those close to it, the group had argued that it was "
standing next to the enemy forces
", evoking the police forces.
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These events had raised the specter of the "
Troubles
", this violence having opposed for three decades Republicans, mainly Catholics in favor of the reunification of Ireland, and Protestant Unionists, fervent defenders of the belonging of the North of the island to the UK.
The Good Friday Agreement concluded in 1998 put an end to this conflict which claimed 3,500 lives and established a fragile peace, but paramilitary groups remained active.