Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
RONAN’S LOSS STILL RAW
Family of murdered PSNI officer tell of grief a decade after attack
THE family of murdered police officer Ronan Kerr face 10 years since he died tomorrow but say they still feel the “searing pain” of his loss.
GAA and car mad Ronan, inset, was killed when a bomb exploded under his motor in Omagh, Co Tyrone, in 2011. A decade on, his bereft loved-ones said: “We as a family remember Ronan fondly as the loving son and brother that he was and we miss him every day.”
HE was the bright new face of policing in Northern Ireland, a recruit who offered fresh hope and a promising future for the PSNI.
But tomorrow Ronan Kerr’s family have only memories to cling to in their yearning for comfort following his brutal murder by dissidents 10 years ago.
Time has not been a healer for the Kerr family, it hasn’t softened the edges of their pain or allowed them peace, and today they remain haunted by the brutality visited upon Ronan because he answered a call to duty.
His mum Nuala said: “Not a minute goes by where we don’t feel the pain of his loss, and it’s a searing pain”.
Ronan Kerr was a young Catholic man from a border county whose family’s moderate political leanings allowed him the freedom to dedicate himself to policing the whole community.
His childhood dreams included three
very specific interests – GAA, smart cars and becoming a policeman, and he carried them into adulthood with a plan to achieve each one in turn.
By May 2010, aged 24, Ronan had made his dreams a reality, playing GAA, buying his longed-for silver Nissan 320z and joining the PSNI.
By April 2011, aged 25, Ronan was dead, murdered for fulfilling the career ambition he’d held since childhood.
Today a decade on, his bereft loved ones said: “We as a family remember Ronan fondly as the loving son and brother that he was and we miss him every day.
“We will never forget his caring nature and his sense of humour. As a family, we continue to suffer the devastating impact of having him stolen away in such a vile and cruel way.”
Tomorrow marks the 10th anniversary of his murder. Ronan walked out of his apartment in Highfield Close,
Killyclogher, near Omagh at 3.45pm, preparing to drive to work in Enniskillen but instead suffered fatal blast injuries in his driveway from a bomb planted by a faceless killer.
As his loved ones have grieved in the years since, the rest of the world, including his killers, have moved on with their lives.
His fellow PSNI recruits have continued with their careers, many of them working through the ranks, all of them mindful of the terrorists who fatally targeted their friend and colleague in the most cowardly way.
And his GAA teammates and friends from his beloved Beragh Red Knights GFC, including members of his funeral honour guard, have lived their lives mindful of their senseless loss.
While the clock has ticked through more than five million minutes from that fateful knock at his mother
Nuala’s door, time has stood still as she struggled to find a way forward together with Ronan’s brothers Cahir and Aaron, and sister Dairinne.
The murder of the new recruit who had passed out just weeks earlier, prompted a mass outpouring of disgust at the time with “Not In My Name” rallies taking place in Omagh,
Belfast, Enniskillen and London. But still no one has been convicted of his murder and no one has claimed responsibility either.
A tribute to Ronan has now been included in a memorial quilt called Your Legacy Lives On, depicting his passions: a car, Beragh Red Knights GFC, Tyrone County GAA and the
PSNI cap badge. Kenny Donaldson, SEFF’S Director of Services said: “The people who produced Ronan’s patch are themselves victims and survivors who have experienced the pain of having loved ones stolen away through terrorism.
“Ronan’s patch is positioned beside Const Stephen Carroll’s within the quilt which honours the memory of men and women, whether from police, army, prison service or civilian backgrounds, whether from Protestant, Catholic or other backgrounds. Each was valued by their family and friends and the broader community and they are remembered in unity.
“On Ronan’s 10th anniversary, we extend our thoughts to his family and acknowledge the community focuses on milestone anniversaries while for families each and every day is an anniversary, and it’s in these other times that families still need care and consideration.
“Where any of us have the power or ability to ease the pain for people, we have an obligation to do so, and honouring those who have been stolen away is best achieved by ensuring the welfare of those left behind is adequately provided for.”