LGBT History Month – Lyra McKee

February 4, 2020

Lyra McKee was 29 years old and a reporter, writer and campaigner. Friends and colleagues have described her as a “rising star” in the world of journalism – she was named Sky News young journalist of the year in 2006.

Lyra was writing her first book which was due to be published in 2020. She has also been described as “a hero to many in the LGBT community” – she wrote a piece called “Letter To My 14-year-old Self”, in which she talked about facing challenging times at school and the moment she came out as gay to her mother.

John O’Doherty, the director of the Rainbow Project, added: “We have been reading about the huge impact Lyra had on so many within Northern Ireland’s LGBT community, including supporting people in coming out and using her own coming out story to empower others to live as their most authentic selves.”

Lyra was shot whilst covering a riot on the Creggan estate in Derry/Londonderry.