Community hero dies hours after Jubilee

Chairman of Derriaghy Village Community Association, Jim McLaughlin (59) had been amongst friends for the 42 gun salute and lighting of the beacon for Her Majesty’s 70th anniversary on Thursday evening (June 2).

The well-known and respected local peace campaigner who was instrumental in removing loyalist paramilitary murals in his community,  was due to play host for his own association’s Jubilee celebrations on Friday morning, but sadly passed away peacefully at around 9am that day.

Lisburn North councillor, Jonathan Craig who was a close friend of the late Mr McLaughlin said that the entire district had been left devastated. “While for me the shock has been palpable, I cannot comprehend for one second the pain and grief his wife Ruth, son, daughter and their respective spouses and grandson will be now going through,” said Cllr Craig.

In 2015, Mr McLaughlin was central in generating the cross community initiative, ‘Common Ground’ to remove paramilitary murals and to create new works of art to generate a new sense of ownership and pride as symbols of peace building for all.

“Jim became chairman of Derriaghy Village Community Association 14 years ago and from the very start was a advocate for his community, fighting for them at every opportunity,” continued Mr Craig. “Only in the last year along with myself we campaigned to have the main thoroughfare, Milltown Avenue, resurfaced. To Jim’s credit the Department for Infrastructure gave in and carried out the resurfacing.

“Jim along with all the councillors in his area had also campaigned for a new community hall to be built on the former Derriaghy primary school site, a campaign that he fought to see delivered for almost 10 years.

“This year he had the joy of seeing the primary school site purchased by the council as a site for the new community hall.

“Why I mention these two achievements of Jim as a community representative is simply together they amounted to an investment of almost £1 million into his local community, something he was quite rightly proud of.

“This year in particular I entered Jim and the group into the Mayor’s Awards for volunteering, and to his surprise and shock he and the group won the award.

“It was the one and only time I witnessed Jim being absolutely speechless when he went up to receive the award.

“All of this is sums up Jim’s life, he was always thinking of others and the greater good of his local community.

“He loved his family dearly, his wife Ruth, son and daughter, which he spoke to me often about, but especially his first grandson which he was so proud of and never stopped reminding me of.

“Jim will be hugely missed by myself and all the local councillors, by his friends and colleagues in the community group, by hundreds in his local community that he worked tirelessly for. Most of all he will be missed by his wife and family, but they can rest assured that I and the community in Derriaghy will be there to support them and remember the true community champion that Jim was, gone but not forgotten,” he added.