‘I thought Lyra had maybe tripped... then I noticed there was blood and I knew something was seriously wrong’
With a new film about her life just released, murdered journalist Lyra McKee’s sister and partner talk about why they’ll never process their grief until someone is held responsible for her death
Nichola McKee Corner (left) and Sara Canning, sister and partner of murdered journalist Lyra McKee. Photo: Kelvin Boyes
When Nichola McKee Corner saw the deeply moving new documentary on her sister, Lyra, the celebrated journalist who was shot at a riot in Derry over three years ago, the emotions were bittersweet. “You follow Lyra on a journey and you can feel her vibrancy and her energy and her humour. I was kind of lulled into this false sense of security where I almost felt she was alive again. And then I remember, and I go back to April 2019, and it’s like I lose her all over again.”
The force of nature that Lyra (pronounced Leera) was, comes through powerfully in the documentary, which is directed by her good friend, BAFTA-winner documentary maker Alison Millar. At the time of her death, Lyra was one of the brightest stars in Irish journalism, a woman who had given a voice to communities which had been left behind in post Good Friday Agreement Northern Ireland — including LGBTQ+ people, working class youth, and the casualties of historical injustice. It was a bitter irony that she herself would eventually become a victim of sectarian violence, with her family’s grief prolonged and complicated by the slow-moving process of bringing those responsible to justice.
Join the Irish Independent WhatsApp channel
Stay up to date with all the latest news
