Member's statement: Spirit of Paul McGirr
Member's statement by Mr Declan McAleer on .
- MLA
- Mr Declan McAleer
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 10 February 2026
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Spirit of Paul McGirr
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5435175
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I take this opportunity to speak about the incredible work of the Spirit of Paul McGirr charity and its most recent mission to Lusaka, Zambia, when four young students from the Dean Maguirc College in Carrickmore went out for 12 days, along with Clíodhna and Anthony, and gave their energy and hearts to help others. Paul McGirr was a young Tyrone footballer who, tragically, died in 1997. In death, through the dedication of his family and the work of the Spirit of Paul McGirr, Paul's legacy has lived on in the most meaningful way. The charity is Tyrone-based and was founded in 2007 in Paul's memory. It works in close partnership with deprived communities in Lusaka in Zambia to design, fund and construct safe spaces that enable people to realise their potential. Over the years, that has included the construction and maintenance of schools for children with special educational needs, a preschool for orphaned children, primary and secondary schools and essential maternity and health facilities. My daughter, Ríoghnach, was part of the most recent group, which returned home on Sunday after spending 12 days in Zambia with the charity. Through a partnership between Anamore and the Dean Maguirc students, the focus of their mission was a roof-repair project at a rural maternity and health centre. The existing roof was leaking rainwater into the treatment rooms, threatening the structure and the continuity of care for women and newborn babies. Repairing the roof was critical to ensuring that the centre remained safe, weather resistant and fit for purpose.
In preparation for their mission, the girls had a successful fundraising campaign here through activities such as a 12-hour handball marathon, a coffee morning and a sponsored cold-water plunge into the freezing waters of Lough Macrory on New Year's Day morning. At its heart, the mission reflects the simple but powerful belief that safe, sustainable buildings can help to protect families and support livelihoods. Every project undertaken by the Spirit of Paul McGirr charity reflects that belief, building bridges between communities and empowering young people, families and volunteers to be part of lasting change.
350 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: 0.02 (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 (1.00).
- 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 | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.01 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.04 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.02 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.38 |
| Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies | 0.33 |
| Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits | 0.13 |
| Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism | 0.08 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.02 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:33 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
Disagree with this assessment?
Classifications can be challenged. A person reads every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.