The mother of Irish soldier Seán Rooney, who was killed in action in Lebanon three years ago, has been given permission by the High Court to sue the United Nations in the Irish courts.
Private Rooney was killed while on UN duty when the armoured vehicle he was driving came under fire in December 2022.
He was 24 years old when he died.
His mother, Natasha Rooney, from Newtown Cunningham, Co Donegal, has begun legal proceedings against the Defence Forces, the Minister for Defence, Ireland and the Attorney General over the death of her son.
The High Court was told that she also wanted to serve proceedings on the UN, which has its headquarters in New York.
Mr Justice Paul Coffey accepted jurisdiction and granted permission to Ms Rooney's lawyers to issue a plenary summons against the United Nations and serve it on the UN based in New York.
A copy of the personal injuries summons, which will set out the allegations against all parties, including the United Nations, will now be served on the UN, which will have 42 days to enter an appearance in the case.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said full accountability and transparency is owed to the family of Private Rooney.
Speaking in Co Meath this afternoon, Mr Martin said: "Natasha Rooney has gone through terrible trauma in respect of the murder of her son, Seán and we await the outcome of the trial in Lebanon.
"We have been very unhappy at the pace in which that trial has taken place. [It has been] slow and we are looking for full accountability.
"We believe Hezbollah are primarily responsible for the death of Seán."
Of course, full accountability and full transparency is owed to the Rooney family so I welcome developments," he added.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for UNIFIL has said the organisation is "still very much looking" into bringing the person responsible for the death of Private Rooney to justice.
Speaking on RTÉ's Drivetime, Andrea Tenenti said he was aware of reports about the latest development.
Mr Tenenti said: "We have shared actually our investigation with the Prime Minister of Ireland following a request from the senior coroner of the District of Dublin.
"So this has been done.
"The Lebanese military court has criminal jurisdiction over the case and from the information that we are receiving, the next hearing is scheduled for September 2025."
He added that it is "more than paramount" for UNIFIL "to bring the culprits into justice and we are still looking into that and working on that".
Additional reporting: Marc O'Driscoll
