TROOPER SHANE KEARNEY will undergo what’s hoped to be his final surgery today.

The soldier, who sustained a serious head injury in Lebanon towards the end of last year, will go under the knife for cranioplasty surgery in Beaumont Hospital, Co Dublin.

A spokesperson for the Defence Forces said, “All Shane’s colleagues in the Defence Forces are thinking of him at this time and are wishing him a speedy recovery.”

The 22-year-old and his UNIFIL battalion came under attack in southern Lebanon on 14 December 2022 while in a driving convoy. Trooper Kearney’s colleague, Private Seán Rooney (23), was killed during the attack.

The soldier underwent surgery following the attack and was taken back to Ireland in December. The soldier was last discharged from hospital in February and spent the last two months recovering and resting at his home in Cork.

Inquiries into the death of Private Seán Rooney are still on-going, the UN completed its first fact-finding investigation in February.

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