A FOUNDING member of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association who issued the invites to its first historic meeting 50 years ago has died.
Fred Heatley, who was also a local historian and professional boxer in the 1950s, passed away peacefully in a Belfast nursing home on Friday at the age of 82.
Mr Heatley, a father of five, is understood to have been one of the last surviving members of the original Civil Rights executive committee.
Originally from Sailorstown, he left school at the age of 14 to become a messenger boy and went on to become a governor at the Linenhall library and counted John Hume, the late Seamus Heaney and former hostage and writer Brian Keenan among his friends.
Mr Heatley worked for almost 20 years in the Irish News as a fitter maintaining the heavy machinery for newspaper production.
A "lifelong pacifist", according to his son Conal, Mr Heatley took the position as treasurer of the north's fledgling Civil Rights movement and sent out the invites to the first meeting in Belfast's International hotel in January 1967.
The Riverdale man played a leading role in the movement over the next two years and took part in demonstrations in Newry, Enniskillen, Dungannon, Belfast and Derry.
A year later he parted company with the Association over concerns about its direction but continued to campaign for equality and justice over coming decades, most notably in the case of the Birmingham Six.
In 2009, he was officially recognised for the 'one man one vote' achievement by President Mary McAleese at Aras anUachtaráin.
His passion for history led to the founding of the West Belfast Historical Society and he was also instrumental in the establishment of guided bus tours of Belfast, acting as guide on the very first tours during the 1990s.
A memorial service will be held at Roselawn Crematorium at 4.30pm tomorrow.
