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The family, friends and colleagues of slain soldier Sean Rooney will come together in Co Donegal on Saturday for his Month’s Mind Mass.
Pte Rooney’s heartbroken mother Natasha will lead mourners as they remember the 24-year-old who was killed on December 14th last while on UN peacekeeping duties in Lebanon.
Also attending will be Sean’s fiancee Holly McConnellogue from Derry. The couple had been due to marry in August of this year.
The mass will be held at 10am at All Saints Church in Newtowncunningham.
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Although born and raised in Dundalk, Sean spent a number of years living in Newtown and is fondly remembered by all who knew him.
He attended St Eunan’s College in Letterkenny, where he completed his Leaving Certificate before joining the army, following in the footsteps of his late father Cormac.
A second mass will also be held at Holy Family Church in Dundalk on Sunday to remember Pte Rooney.
Members of Sean’s family as well as his fiancee Holly are expected to attend both masses.
A total of seven suspects have now been formally charged in connection with the death of Pte Rooney.
He died when two UN army vehicles came under fire in the southern Lebanese village of Al-Aqbieh.
Sean’s colleague, Shane Kearney, from Killeagh in Co Cork, suffered serious head injuries when the vehicle in which he was travelling crashed during the ambush.
He is recovering in Dublin’s Beaumont Hospital and is no longer in critical condition.