Member's statement: Jackie Hewitt MBE
Member's statement by Mr Brian Kingston on .
- MLA
- Mr Brian Kingston
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 10 September 2024
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Jackie Hewitt MBE
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4517186
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I rise to pay tribute to the life and work of Jackie Hewitt MBE, who made a massive contribution to community development in the greater Shankill area and beyond. When I commenced work for the Greater Shankill Community Council in 1997, Jackie was its chairman and a stalwart of the community. He was a key driver of Farset Youth and Community Development on the Springfield Road; Farset Enterprise Park; Farset urban farm; and the Farset international hostel. It was Jackie who proposed that we establish the 'Shankill Mirror' community newspaper in 1999, which I managed for seven years. Jackie was a key board member and wrote most of the editorial columns at that time. The newspaper continues today. Along with Jackie Redpath, he established the Greater Shankill Community Convention in 2001, bringing together the entire community after a time of division. Jackie Hewitt was a key member of Ainsworth Community Residents Association and a local housing association. He had been manager of the Woodvale Youth Training Project and the Woodvale Action for Community Employment (ACE) project. He was also prominent in the Ireland funds, the Forum for Action on Substance Abuse (FASA) and the support group that was established to assist the families of those killed and injured in the 1993 Shankill bomb. He was instrumental in the cross-border Farset/Inishowen and Border Counties Initiative, which included a focus on remembering those who served in the First World War, including linking with the Mayor of Drogheda, Sean Collins. Jackie was active in the Orange Institution, including serving as district master of Belfast No. 3 District for one year. He was also a key instigator of the Thiepval Memorial Loyal Orange Lodge No. 1916, promoting the memory of the Orange contribution at the Battle of the Somme. He was also active in the Cavehill/Oldpark branch of the Royal British Legion, assisting with and fundraising for two memorials to the three Scottish soldiers. During my year as Lord Mayor of Belfast in 2017, I hosted the Greater Shankill BEST awards at City Hall. I was delighted that Jackie Hewitt was selected to receive the lifetime achievement award. I had the honour of presenting the award to Jackie, who attended with his wife, Glenda. At Jackie's funeral service last month, their daughter, Helen, led the tributes.
Among her memories was one of Jackie interrupting a family holiday to France in the 1980s, because he wanted to visit an old tower that was in a neglected condition. That, of course, was the Ulster Memorial Tower at Thiepval, which was officially opened in 1921 to commemorate the fallen of the 36th (Ulster) Division in the Battle of the Somme. Jackie established the Farset Somme Project, which successfully lobbied to have the memorial refurbished. Jackie was also instrumental in founding the Somme Association, which manages the Ulster Memorial Tower and the visitors' centre beside it. It owns Thiepval Wood as well as the Somme Museum at Conlig in County Down. I send deepest sympathies to his wife, Glenda; their daughter, Helen, and her husband, William; Jackie's grandson, David; the entire family circle —
— and Jackie's many close friends.
522 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.07 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.98).
- Subject area: Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.08 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.04 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.04 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.03 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.07 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.98 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.02 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.32 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.29 |
| Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice) | 0.12 |
| Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism | 0.12 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.09 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:01 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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