AS THE funeral of Constable Ronan Kerr takes place in Co Tyrone today, a private donor has put up a reward of £50,000 (€57,000) for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the young PSNI officer’s murder.
The village of Beragh will come to a standstill as police colleagues, politicians, local community, relatives and friends join with the Kerr family for the funeral of the 25-year-old officer who died in a suspected dissident republican car bombing in Omagh on Saturday.
Among those attending the funeral are: Taoiseach Enda Kenny, PSNI chief constable Matt Baggott, Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan, Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness and DUP First Minister Peter Robinson who is attending his first Mass.
Mr Robinson is a Protestant Pentecostalist whose church generally is theologically opposed to members attending a Catholic Mass. Mr Robinson said he had made a personal decision to attend while knowing that “not everyone” would agree with him.
“I don’t want the funeral to be about a political matter. This is a personal human tragedy for the family and we must be there to show support for the family,” he said. “I hope people will understand that when dissidents murder a young man that it is right that the political establishment stands up and makes it very clear that they stand with this family,” added Mr Robinson.
The PSNI has four teams totalling 100 detectives, with uniformed support, dedicated to trying to establish who carried out the murder.
Security sources suggested that the investigation would be “slow and methodical” with an immediate focus on trying to track who went in and out of the Highfield estate in Omagh where Constable Kerr lived in the 48 hours leading up to the explosion on Saturday afternoon.
Careful forensic tests are also being carried out to try to determine whether material and debris recovered from the bomb site could help establish who planned and carried out the attack. So far police have not been able to establish whether Semtex explosive was used in the attack, the sources said.
Security service MI5 is also trying to gather intelligence from its dissident and other informants that could lead to the killers being apprehended, they added.
At the time of writing there has still been no admission of responsibility. As well as focusing on one possibility that the group styling itself Óglaigh na hÉireann carried out the bombing, security and intelligence personnel on both sides of the Border are also checking whether some “unaffiliated republicans” in Co Tyrone were involved.
Óglaigh na hÉireann is led by a Co Louth republican who was linked to the Real IRA led by Michael McKevitt.
McKevitt is in prison for dissident republican activity.
Meanwhile, the British Crimestoppers group, described as an independent charity which helps the police to solve crime, has offered the reward for information that would convict the bombers.
Normally it offers rewards of about £10,000, but a private donor who is remaining anonymous put the sum forward.
A huge attendance is expected at the funeral which begins at noon in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Beragh.
Also this afternoon the Irish Congress of Trade Unions is staging a rally in Belfast to protest at the murder.
Hundreds of people lined up yesterday to sign a book of condolences in Omagh for Constable Kerr.
Catholic Bishop of Derry Dr Séamus Hegarty and the Right Rev Ken Good, Church of Ireland Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, who visited the Kerr family, issued a joint statement condemning the murder. “Notwithstanding this tragic event, we encourage young people from across our community not to be deterred from serving the public by joining the PSNI,” they said.
“Those who committed this crime must be aware of a stark contrast so obvious to all on these shores and beyond; a contrast between the cruelty of violent acts conceived in bitterness as compared with the inspirational example of service to his community exemplified by Ronan Kerr and the dignity shown by his family” they added.
