Lyra + Q&A

Coventry Cathedral, in partnership with Coventry University’s RISING Global Peace Forum, is incredibly honoured to host this special screening of 'Lyra'.

Lyra is an emotive, intimate film exploring the life and death of acclaimed young Northern Irish journalist Lyra McKee, whose murder by the New IRA in April 2019 sent shock waves across the world. Directed by her close friend Alison Millar, the film seeks answers to her senseless killing through Lyra’s own work and words.

The screening at Coventry Cathedral - a place which stands as a symbol of peace and reconciliation - will welcome Lyra's sister, Nichola McKee Corner and the film's producer, Jackie Doyle, for a Q&A after the film.They will be joined by the Revd Dr Alex Wimberley, Leader of the Corrymeela Community, Michele Aaron, Professor in Film and Television Studies at Warwick University and Helen Wheatley, Director of Film and Television Studies at Warwick University, who will chair the panel.

With this year marking the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, Lyra invites us to consider the experience of young people in Northern Ireland, where deep divisions continue, and where reconciliation is still awaited.

At the end of the evening donations will be invited for the Lyra McKee Journalism Training Bursary. This was inspired by Lyra’s determination to become an investigative journalist: despite personal disability, the need to care for her disabled mother as well as fighting the in-built bias against working-class entrants to journalism. The aim of this bursary scheme is to train people from underprivileged backgrounds who aspire to become journalists or who are journalists at the very early stages of their career.