Longford Leader Comment: Lyra McKee's death should never be forgotten

It is the week that the nation and world were horrified by the killing of 29-year-old journalist Lyra McKee.

A woman who had gone out to do her work as a freelance journalist was cut down in the prime of her life by violent thugs.

This was not a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. This is a case of murder.

Lyra McKee has been lauded this week not just for her outgoing bubbly personality but for her role as a journalist and writer.

As a rising journalist she extensively covered the Northern Irish conflict and its legacy. She later went on to be a published novelist and in 2016, Forbes magazine named her one of their 230 under 30 in media. She had a partner, and she had recently signed a two book deal with a large publishing agency.

It is important to remember these details as this was the life that was so carelessly snuffed out on Thursday night. Her death has sent shock waves around the country. For far too long we were accustomed to turning on our radios and hearing of deaths in Northern Ireland. It became the norm rather than the exception.

However, following two decades of peace we saw how the Good Friday Agreement changed all that. As a result of this, the death of Lyra McKee has stunned and shocked us, especially as the PSNI regard this as an act of terrorism.

And it is a reflection of the changing times that within days two teenagers had been brought in for questioning by the police.

It is frightening to hear detectives from the PSNI talking about a new breed of terrorists and that they were lurking in the shadows ready to seize any opportunity available to them.

Lyra McKee spent her life fighting for causes, to the forefront of this was the LGBT movement. She had a huge career ahead.

Sadly on the night when she went to cover the riots in Derry, all that was taken away from her.

Her death should not be forgotten but used as a symbol of what we are all against; the sea change of attitudes is there, we just have to make our voices heard.