Member's statement: Suicide, Talking, Education Prevention and Support: Pádraig Kelly
Member's statement by Ms Emma Sheerin on .
- MLA
- Ms Emma Sheerin
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 24 February 2026
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Suicide, Talking, Education Prevention and Support: Pádraig Kelly
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5404101
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I commend Jill and the whole team at the Ponderosa Bar on the Glenshane Pass for an event that they are running this Friday night to raise funds for Suicide, Talking, Education Prevention and Support (STEPS), a mental health charity in my constituency. STEPS is a brilliant organisation born out of sadness. In 2012, after a spate of suicides in our area, a group of families who had been affected came together to lift the lid on the issue of suicide, raise awareness, open the conversation and, most important, offer support to people who were struggling with their mental health and prevent further suicides. The families who took that initiative at that time have to be commended for the strength and fortitude that they have shown and the excellent work that STEPS has done since. There is no doubt that they have saved lives through the extensive work that they have done in our area. The event on Friday night is another example of that, because it is in honour of a very special young man who, very sadly, died by suicide in January 2025: Pádraig Kelly or Poddy Ned, as he was known, from Slaughtneil. I am proud to say that I know Poddy's family really well. His father, Paddy, is a lifelong republican and Sinn Féin activist. He has been active in his community for many years and a Sinn Féin councillor since 2023. He is well known, well loved and well respected in our area. A heart of gold — somebody who just could not do enough for anybody. Poddy's mother, Leonie, has been a pillar of strength over the past year. She wrote and delivered the most beautiful tribute to her son at the mass in his honour. Of course, Pádraig's only sister, Áine — our lovely Áine — is such a wonderful young woman, whom he doted on, and has been a pillar of strength for her family since the tragedy. I know that Friday night will be bittersweet. It will be tough. However, it will be full of laughs as well, which is the legacy that Pádraig has left behind. I know that the Ponderosa will be packed to the rafters, which is testament to the esteem in which Pádraig was held in the community and in which the whole family are regarded. There is an old Irish proverb that a man is not dead while his name is still spoken: that is true of young Pádraig Kelly.
414 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: 0.09 (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 (0.96).
- Subject area: Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits.
- 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 | 0.04 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.06 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.05 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.09 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.96 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.02 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.02 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits | 0.32 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.28 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.21 |
| Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism | 0.08 |
| Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice) | 0.05 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:01 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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