• Judge was unrelenting in his criticism of prison conditions

  Dermot Kinlen: With the death of Mr Justice Dermot Kinlen aged 77, the prison service has lost its fiercest critic and prisoners a staunch champion of their rights. The State's first inspector of prisons, he was an equally consistent critic of the minister for justice and his departmental officials. p
  

• Artist and botanist who was a bright light in NI

  Raymond Piper: The artist and botanist Raymond Piper, who has died at the age of 84, was one of the brightest lights in the cultural life of Northern Ireland. He is justly celebrated for his portraits of the North's grandees and personalities whose features he skilfully captured on canvas. (Such commissions were his main source of income.) p
  

• Academic who shaped development aid projects

  John Jackson: Prof John A Jackson was a former head of the department of sociology at Trinity College Dublin, who in retirement made a substantial contribution to shaping Ireland's overseas development aid programme. p
  

• Renowned, generous gardening expert

  Pax Hackett: One of the most renowned and expert figures in Irish gardening circles and a former president of the Royal Horticultural Society of Ireland (RHSI), Pax Hackett, has died at the age of 86. p
  

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