In 2011, McKee joined the staff of
news aggregator Mediagazer, a sister site of technology news aggregator
Techmeme. In 2014, she came to wider public attention with the publication of a
blog post titled "Letter to my 14-year-old self" in which she described the challenges of growing up gay in Belfast; it was subsequently made into a short film. McKee's work as a journalist included a number of pieces that appeared in both domestic and international media. (republished by
The Atlantic),
The Belfast Telegraph,
Private Eye and
BuzzFeed News. In 2016
Forbes magazine named her as one of its "
30 under 30 in media" because of her work as an investigative reporter. It deals with the
Provisional IRA killing of Belfast MP
Robert Bradford. McKee sought
crowdfunding to finance its publication, and it was scheduled for publication by Excalibur Press. She subsequently signed a two-book deal with
Faber and Faber. but remained unfinished. A collection of McKee's writing titled
Lost, Found, Remembered was posthumously published in 2021. McKee wrote on the consequences of
The Troubles. She notably wrote "Suicide of the Ceasefire Babies", an article on teenage suicides linked to the conflict. At the time of her death, McKee was researching unsolved killings during The Troubles in Northern Ireland of the late 20th century. In March 2019
Irish Times writer Martin Doyle featured McKee in his article "Best of Irish: 10 rising stars of Irish writing". She gave a
TEDx talk, "How uncomfortable conversations can save lives", at TEDxStormont Women in 2017, about the 2016
Orlando nightclub shooting. After her death it was revealed that she had been planning to propose
marriage to Canning, and had purchased an engagement ring. Violence broke out after police raids on dissidents with the aim of seizing
munitions ahead of the
Easter Rising commemorative parades due to take place in the area that weekend. The disturbances were centred on Fanad Drive. Youths threw petrol bombs and burnt two vehicles. Police said that a gunman then fired up to twelve shots towards police officers. McKee, who was on Fanad Drive and standing near an armoured police
Land Rover, was wounded in the head. Mobile phone footage and police CCTV footage shows a masked gunman, believed to be a member of the
New IRA, opening fire with a
handgun. The last time a journalist was killed in the UK was the 2001 assassination of
Martin O'Hagan.
Funeral and vigils McKee's funeral took place at the Anglican
St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast, on 24 April. It was attended by British Prime Minister
Theresa May,
Irish President Michael D. Higgins,
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, DUP leader
Arlene Foster, Sinn Féin leader
Mary Lou McDonald and Sinn Féin Vice President
Michelle O'Neill, and
Labour Party leader
Jeremy Corbyn. Members of the
National Union of Journalists formed a
guard of honour. A vigil at the site of her killing held on 19 April was attended by
Colum Eastwood,
Arlene Foster,
Naomi Long and
Mary Lou McDonald. A second vigil was held in
Belfast City Hall, and was attended by author
Anna Burns and John O'Doherty of the
Rainbow Project, an LGBT rights charity in Northern Ireland. Other public figures to express condolences include
Karen Bradley,
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland; and former US President
Bill Clinton. Séamus Dooley, assistant general secretary of the
National Union of Journalists in Northern Ireland, described her as "a journalist of courage, style and integrity". The same day the police had arrested two men, aged 18 and 19, on suspicion of involvement in McKee's killing. They were released without charge the following day. On 23 April,
The Irish News published an article claiming that the New IRA had admitted responsibility for the killing, stated that McKee was not the intended target, and offered apologies to McKee's family and partner. On the same day, police arrested a 57-year-old woman; she was later released unconditionally. On 25 April, the crime prevention charity
Crimestoppers offered a reward of up to £10,000 for information leading to the conviction of those responsible for the killing. On 1 May the PSNI confirmed it would offer anonymity to any witnesses who came forward with information. Leona O’Neill, a fellow Derry journalist who witnessed and wrote about McKee's killing, later received online threats, alleging that she was responsible, or had invented her account of the shooting. On 11 February 2020, four men, aged 20, 27, 29 and 52, were arrested under the
Terrorism Act in Derry. A 52-year-old man was charged with McKee's murder the following day. In early June 2020, the weapon, a
Hämmerli X-Esse
.22 LR pistol, was recovered by police from the Ballymagroarty area of Derry. Niall Sheerin, a 28-year-old man from Derry, was subsequently charged with possessing a firearm in suspicious circumstances and possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life; he denied the charges. In a 2021 statement to the
Belfast High Court, the prosecution said that the gun had been used in four paramilitary attacks between September 2018 and March 2019. The trial began on 30 May 2024, with three men charged with McKee's murder. == Legacy ==