Ronan Kerr was a
Police Service of Northern Ireland
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ga, Seirbhís Póilíneachta Thuaisceart Éireann; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ')
is the police, police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabu ...
(PSNI) officer killed by a
booby-trap car bomb planted outside his home on 2 April 2011 at Highfield Close, just off the Gortin Road (the B48), near
Killyclogher
Killyclogher () is a village on the outskirts of the town of Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is also a townland and an electoral ward of Omagh & Fermanagh District Council. According to the 2001 census, it had a population app ...
on the northern outskirts of
Omagh
Omagh (; from ga, An Ómaigh , meaning 'the virgin plain') is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers River Drumragh, Drumragh and Camowen River, Camowen meet to form the River Strule, Strule. North ...
in
County Tyrone
County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional Counties of Ireland, counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an admini ...
. Responsibility for the attack was later claimed by a
dissident republican
Dissident republicans, renegade republicans, anti-Agreement republicans or anti-ceasefire republicans ( ga, poblachtach easaontach) are Irish republicans who do not support the current peace agreements in Northern Ireland. The agreements follow ...
group claiming to be made of former members of the
Provisional IRA
The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, fa ...
.
Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...
Kerr was
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
, a group which at the time constituted approximately 30% of PSNI officers (a proportion recruitment policies were trying to increase), and was 25 at the time of his death. He was a member of a
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...
club, the
Beragh Red Knights. The guard of honour at Kerr's funeral was formed of club members and PSNI officers, a funeral also attended by the leaders of Ireland's four main churches.
[Ronan Kerr's killers told: 'In God's name stop' – 6 April 2011](_blank)
– BBC news
Reaction
His murder was condemned by almost all sections of
Northern Irish
Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...
politics
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
and society as well as bringing international condemnation. On 6 April, a peace rally was organised in
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
by the
Irish Congress of Trade Unions
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (often abbreviated to just Congress or ICTU), formed in 1959 by the merger of the Irish Trades Union Congress (founded in 1894) and the Congress of Irish Unions (founded in 1945), is a national trade union centr ...
, which was reported to have been attended by up to 7000 persons. Similar events were held in Omagh,
Enniskillen
Enniskillen ( , from ga, Inis Ceithleann , 'Cethlenn, Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of ...
, and
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.
BBC Ireland correspondent
Mark Simpson commented, in relation to the unified response of the community, "A murder designed to divide people has actually brought them closer together."
Graffiti praising the murder was daubed on walls in predominantly republican areas of
Derry
Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...
.
Investigation
On 26 July 2011, five men were arrested in connection with the investigation. They were later released.
On 26 November 2012, investigating detectives announced the arrest of a 22-year-old man in
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...
.
On 27 November, a 39-year-old man in
County Tyrone
County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional Counties of Ireland, counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an admini ...
was arrested and questioned.
On 16 May 2017, officers from the PSNI's Serious Crime Branch arrested two men under the Terrorism Act in connection with the murder. A 27-year-old man was arrested in Omagh, and a 40-year-old man was produced into police custody from prison.
In June 2018, a man from
Coalisland
Coalisland () is a small town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, with a population of 5,682 in the 2011 Census. Four miles from Lough Neagh, it was formerly a centre for coal mining.
History
Origins
In the late 17th century coal deposits ...
, County Tyrone, was charged with three terrorism-related charges. These charges were connected to searches in Coalisland in the course of the murder investigation.
The charges were dropped in June 2019.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Ronan
Terrorist incidents in the United Kingdom in 2011
2011 crimes in Ireland
Car and truck bombings in Northern Ireland
Deaths by person in Northern Ireland
Terrorism deaths in Northern Ireland
2011 murders in the United Kingdom
2011 in Northern Ireland
21st century in County Tyrone
Crime in County Tyrone
April 2011 crimes
Attacks by Republicans since the Good Friday Agreement
2010s murders in Northern Ireland