Fr Joe Gormely said gunman should have come to hospital to see devastation of his actions on murdered Lyra McKee
The 29-year-old journalist was shot dead by a lone dissident republican gunman in Derry’s Creggan estate on Thursday night during serious rioting following police raids.
Fr Joseph Gormely says he received a call to go Altnagelvin Hospital shortly after midnight where Lyra died after being rushed there by police in a landrover.
The priest told BBC NI News: “[Ms McKee’s family] just thought it was somebody else, it had to be somebody else – it wasn’t Lyra.
“I would love if those people who had fired those shots came over and saw what they did in Altnagelvin [Hospital] last night, if they came over and saw that scene of a young woman and her family.
“This is their Good Friday and we have to stand beside them…on this terrible cross that has been visited by such an evil act.”
Fr Gormley said Derry was not “a playground” for political games and the violence in the city was “beyond anti-social”.
“How dare they set themselves up as some sort of arbitrator for disputes within our community.
“They don’t listen but what needs to happen is we all need to get off the fence – we need to be saying face-to-face to people that we know that enough is enough.
Talent journalist Lyra McKee shot dead in Derry on Thursday
He added that Ms McKee “in her heart of hearts wanted to make a contribution to ending this cycle of violence by writing about the effects of violence on our young people”.
He also called for a march that was organised to mark the anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising on Monday to be cancelled in the wake of Ms McKee’s death.
An illegal dissident republican parade was due to take place in the Creggan estate in Derry, where she was shot.
“If these people are serious about our community, what they will do is… they will call that off,” he said.
“They will not have men in combat uniform walking past the place where Lyra McKee was murdered a few feet away.”
“It has to be called off.
“I’m speaking for, I’m sure, everyone in the Creggan but everyone has to make their voices felt.
“It would be so disrespectful to have that march.”
Shortly after the priest’s comments, dissident republicans posted on social media that the event would be cancelled.
A statement issued by political party Saoradh, which represents the ‘New IRA’, tried to justify the use of violence.
The sealed off area of Creggan in Derry where 29 yr old journalist Lyra Mckee was murdered. (North West Newspix)
The Saoradh statement sparked a social media backlash, with hundreds of hostile comments criticising their version of events.
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