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13/05/2014
Former Mayor Hugh Smyth Dies
Former Lord Mayor of Belfast and former Progressive Unionist Party leader Hugh Smyth has died aged 73.
Mr Smyth served on Belfast City Council for 41 years, making him the longest-serving member of Belfast City Council. He was first elected to represent the Shankill Ward in May 1972 and went on to represent the Court Area from May 1973, until his retirement on the grounds of ill-health at the end of 2013. He also served in the 1974 Northern Ireland Assembly and the Northern Ireland Convention. Mr Smyth was awarded the OBE in the New Year’s Honours' List in January 1996.
The current Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Mairtin O Muilleoir, and Deputy Lord Mayor, Alderman Christopher Stalford, issued a joint statement: "Hugh Smyth was a true stalwart of this council over the four decades of his service. As our city's longest serving public representative, he gave unstinting service to both Belfast and its people, and did so with faithfulness, integrity and no little humour. Everything he did for the betterment of the people of the city that he loved."
North Belfast DUP MP Nigel Dodds said: "I served alongside Hugh on Belfast City Council for almost 25 years and knew him as not just a colleague but also a friend. He was an assiduous representative but also one of the great characters of the Council. He will be sadly missed by all those who knew him and my thoughts and prayers are with his family at this sad time."
Ulster Unionist Party Cllr Dr Chris McGimpsey said: "I was very sad to learn of the death of Hugh Smyth who I knew well from the time when we both represented the Court electoral area, on Belfast City Council.
"It covered the greater Shankill area and this was most fitting, as Hugh was very much a Shankill man, born and bred, and who never forgot his roots. He was a tireless worker for the local community and a hugely popular figure which was evident in the fact that the local people returned him to City Hall as their representative for decades, the pinnacle of which was his term as Lord Mayor."
(IT/MH)
Mr Smyth served on Belfast City Council for 41 years, making him the longest-serving member of Belfast City Council. He was first elected to represent the Shankill Ward in May 1972 and went on to represent the Court Area from May 1973, until his retirement on the grounds of ill-health at the end of 2013. He also served in the 1974 Northern Ireland Assembly and the Northern Ireland Convention. Mr Smyth was awarded the OBE in the New Year’s Honours' List in January 1996.
The current Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Mairtin O Muilleoir, and Deputy Lord Mayor, Alderman Christopher Stalford, issued a joint statement: "Hugh Smyth was a true stalwart of this council over the four decades of his service. As our city's longest serving public representative, he gave unstinting service to both Belfast and its people, and did so with faithfulness, integrity and no little humour. Everything he did for the betterment of the people of the city that he loved."
North Belfast DUP MP Nigel Dodds said: "I served alongside Hugh on Belfast City Council for almost 25 years and knew him as not just a colleague but also a friend. He was an assiduous representative but also one of the great characters of the Council. He will be sadly missed by all those who knew him and my thoughts and prayers are with his family at this sad time."
Ulster Unionist Party Cllr Dr Chris McGimpsey said: "I was very sad to learn of the death of Hugh Smyth who I knew well from the time when we both represented the Court electoral area, on Belfast City Council.
"It covered the greater Shankill area and this was most fitting, as Hugh was very much a Shankill man, born and bred, and who never forgot his roots. He was a tireless worker for the local community and a hugely popular figure which was evident in the fact that the local people returned him to City Hall as their representative for decades, the pinnacle of which was his term as Lord Mayor."
(IT/MH)
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