Northern Ireland bid a sad farewell to many well-known faces over the past 12 months from political titans to sporting legends.
As 2022 comes to an end, it is time to commemorate the notable figures we have said goodbye to in Northern Ireland over the last 12 months.
Belfast Live remembers 10 people we bid farewell to this year.
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Christopher Stalford
The death of DUP MLA Christopher Stalford drew tributes from across the political spectrum at Stormont.
The 39-year-old married father of four died suddenly on February 19. Mr Stalford represented South Belfast at Stormont since 2016 and had been the Assembly's principal deputy speaker since 2020.
Elected to Stormont for the first time in 2016 and re-elected in 2017, Mr Stalford was involved with the DUP since his early 20s.
From the Sandy Row area, Mr Stalford had been a councillor in Belfast since 2005 and was elected High Sheriff of Belfast in 2010 and served as deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast in 2013/14.
Lord David Trimble
The original first minister of Northern Ireland and co-architect of the Good Friday Agreement, died on July 25 following a short illness.
The 77-year-old peer and ex-leader of the Ulster Unionist Party was one of the principal architects of the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement that ended decades of conflict in the region.
Lord Trimble was the unionist who dared to compromise and led his party to the negotiating table at Stormont. His contribution to the peace process earned Lord Trimble and the late SDLP leader John Hume the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize.
He was the first person to be elected first minister of Northern Ireland, holding the office from 1998 to 2002, and always described the Good Friday Agreement as his greatest achievement.
Queen Elizabeth II
The UK's longest-serving monarch died at Balmoral aged 96 on September 8, after reigning for 70 years.
The Queen came to the throne in 1952 and witnessed enormous social change. Her son King Charles III said the death of his beloved mother was a "moment of great sadness" for him and his family and that her loss would be "deeply felt" around the world.
Royal Hillsborough became the focus of the outpouring of grief in Northern Ireland following the death of the Queen. Thousands lined the narrow streets of the Co Down village when the new King visited and the number of people who came to the castle to lay floral tributes brought local roads to a standstill.
Sammy 'Yer Man' Mackie
Legendary Northern Ireland supporter Sammy Mackie passed away on February 22, aged 82.
Mackie secured a special place in local football folklore when he recorded and sang the catchy anthem ‘I’m Yer Man’ ahead of Northern Ireland’s heroics at the 1982 World Cup in Spain.
Wearing a bonnet, bar scarf and massive green and white rosette, the Whiteabbey-born comic captured the indomitable spirit of the Green and White Army in the early-1980s.
And 40 years later, the lyrics - “I’m yer man, I’m yer man and I’ll be in the stand, cheering Northern Ireland cause they’ll do the best they can” - still trip off the tongue for those of a certain vintage.
Billy Bingham
Warm tributes were paid to legendary former Northern Ireland manager Billy Bingham following his death at the age of 90 on June 9.
Bingham played at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden but is best known for managing his country at successive World Cups in 1982 and '86.
He famously led Northern Ireland to the second group stage of the 1982 tournament after beating hosts Spain 1-0 with a goal from Gerry Armstrong in Valencia. B
Hailing from Bloomfield, Bingham played for a number of clubs including Glentoran, Sunderland, Luton, Everton and Port Vale. His managerial career also saw spells at Southport, Plymouth, Linfield, Greece, Everton, PAOK, Mansfield and Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia.
Damian Casey
Tyrone hurling star Damian Casey hit 0-14 in the Nickey Rackard Cup final against Roscommon at Croke Park in May, but tragically lost his life just weeks later.
The Dungannon native died on June 17 following an accident in Spain, aged just 28.
Having scored in every game he played for Tyrone, Casey averaged over 10 points a match in over 100 League and Championship appearances for his county, amassing 39 goals and 906 points.
In October, his family were in attendance at the awards ceremony in Dublin as he was deservedly named the Nickey Rachard Cup Player of the Year for 2022. He was also recently named as Ulster's Hurler of the Year.
Kim Lenaghan
BBC Radio Ulster presenter and author Kim Lenaghan died aged 61 on September 11. Known for her own show on weekend mornings, Kim had worked for BBC Northern Ireland for 25 years.
The Belfast-based broadcaster, writer and critic mainly in the fields of the visual and cinematic arts, music and cuisine culture, previously presented BBC Radio Ulster's This New Day, Arts Extra and the BBC Northern Ireland TV programmes, Country Times and Good Dog, Bad Dog.
She graduated from Queen's University, Belfast with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and from the University of Ulster with a Master of Arts in Marketing.
Baroness May Blood
Former Labour peer and trade unionist Baroness May Blood died at the age of 84 on October 21.
The Belfast woman was president of the Labour Party in Northern Ireland and in the 1990s played a key role in the formation of the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition.
In 1999, she became the first woman in Northern Ireland to be given a life peerage, making her Baroness Blood of Blackwatertown. She represented Labour until she stepped down from the House of Lords in 2018.
During the 1970s, Baroness Blood supported the Equal Pay Act (1970) and Sex Discrimination (Northern Ireland) Order (1976). Her other campaigns in Blackstaff Mill included reducing working hours, negotiating for holiday pay and a minimum wage for the women in the mill offices.
Aideen Kennedy
Popular former television journalist Aideen Kennedy passed away on June 19 following a short illness.
The 43-year-old's death came just a day after announcing on social media that she was returning home from a spell in hospital to receive palliative care.
Aideen had been a popular newscaster with UTV for a number of years and was a regular face on television in homes across Northern Ireland.
Aideen was the fourth of four siblings to pass away and had previously spoken of her grief at losing her sister Fiona and brothers Dara and Rory.
Sir William Wright
Wrightbus founder Sir William Wright, who passed away on July 24 aged 94, was remembered as a 'giant character' and someone who had 'that X Factor'.
The Ballymena man founded the firm in Co Antrim with his father Robert after the Second World War. He also served as a unionist councillor until 2005. Wrightbus was the first company in the UK to produce an electric bus, the first to produce a hybrid-electric double decker, and now the first in the world with a hydrogen-powered double decker bus.
Following financial troubles the company was bought over by Jo Bamford in 2019.
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