This friend of Sean Rooney made an emotional visit to the private’s army barracks yesterday to pay tribute to him.
“I have known him since I was about 13, he was a good friend,” Aaron Fry told The Mirror as he laid a wreath for Private Rooney outside Aiken Barracks in Dundalk, Co Louth, where the hero served as a specialist driver.
Mr Fry, who laid the wreaths with his mother Trisha and her husband Terry Hamilton, said he wanted to pay tribute to his friend.
Read More : Irish soldier died a hero trying to save his colleagues in Lebanon ambush
He was one of a number of people who arrived at the barracks throughout yesterday to leave floral tributes for the. murdered soldier, who was well-known in the town.
And Mr Fry (28) told us that he heard about the incident early yesterday – and immediately feared for his friend.
He said: “I read about it on Facebook. It came up about a young Irish soldier being shot.
“I knew Sean was out in the Lebanon and I wondered straight away if it was him. It came into my head, but I didn’t actually think it would be.
“Then we got the confirmation. It was terrible.”
Mr Fry told The Mirror that Private Rooney’s life’s ambition was to join the Defence Forces – following the family tradition.
His late father Cormac also served as a soldier in Dundalk. Two of Private Rooney’s uncles and a great-uncle currently serve in the barracks and were among the first to be told his killing yesterday.
Mr Fry told us: “I’ve known him about 16 years.
"He always wanted to go into the Defence Forces – it was a family thing.
“He was kind, caring down to earth – and was a good laugh.
“He was very outgoing.”
Meanwhile, Private Rooney’s commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Frank Colclough, also paid tribute to him last night and said: “He was a model soldier.”
The officer, who is head of the 27 th Infantry Battalion asked at Aiken Barracks, said the fallen soldier’s colleagues were heartbroken by his death.
He said: “They're devastated. It's a tragic moment.”
Lt-Coil Colclough said Private Rooney joined the 27 th battalion three years ago and after passing out served in a cavalry unit at Cathal Brugha Barracks in south Dublin.
He then went to southern Lebanon with another Irish battalion in November last year – where he spent six months on a peacekeeping mission.
Once that mission ended, he came back to Ireland and rejoined the 27 th Battalion as a specialist driver – and applied for his second trip to Lebanon.
He had only gone back to Lebanon a few weeks before Wednesday night’s tragedy happened.
Lt-Col Colclough said: “He went out to serve the country again.
“He was a diligent young private soldier…he was a model soldier.”
He added: “Seán was on his second trip overseas.
“He really espoused the values of the model soldiers that we want in here; loyal, enthusiastic. He was well got in here, in Cathal Brugha, and overseas.
“He was a fantastic character and the type of model soldier you'd like to see every day here, coming to work every day with a smile on his face.”
Local community leaders also paid tribute to the young soldier.
Louth Fine Gael TD Fergus O’Dowd said: “I was deeply saddened to hear the news that an Irish soldier who was stationed in Dundalk has lost his life whilst on peacekeeping duty.
“This brave soldier made the ultimate sacrifice for our country and he will be remembered as a hero.
“I would like to convey my heartfelt sympathies to the family and friends of the deceased, who are in all of our thoughts at this time.
“Our thoughts are also with the other soldiers who were seriously injured in the incident last night, the entire country is thinking of you.”
And Dundalk Sinn Fein TD Ruairi Ó Murchú said: "This was shocking and very sad news to wake up to this morning and it is a terrible loss to the Rooney family and Seán’s friends.
"My thoughts today are with his family, his friends, the members of the Defence Forces, particularly those based at Aiken barracks.”
Private Rooney grew up in the Muirhevnamor area of Dundalk and attended St Mary’s College in the town.
His mother Natasha was being comforted by family and friends last night.
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