• Catholic lay activist who founded Focolare

  Chiara Lubich:   CHIARA LUBICH, founder of the international Focolare Movement, has died peacefully aged 88. A major figure of 20th century Christianity, she was a woman who made unity her passion, contributing in no small way to renewal in the Catholic Church, unity among Christians and dialogue among members of the world's religions. p
  

• Horticulturist of Seaforde

  Patrick Forde:   PATRICK FORDE, who has died at the age of 67, was the 12th generation of the Fordes to live at Seaforde in Co Down. p
  

• The last victim of the Shankill Butchers

  Gerard McLaverty:   MOST PEOPLE would be satisfied to be remembered for generosity of spirit. p
  

• Literary giant of the imagination promoting interplanetary travel

  Sir Arthur C Clarke: AMONG THE giants of the imaginative promotion of the ideas of interplanetary travel, the colonising by man of nearby planets and the urgent need for peaceful exploration of outer space, Sir Arthur C Clarke, who has died aged 90, was pre-eminent because of his hard and accurate predictions of the detailed technologies of space flight and the use of near-Earth space for global communications. p
  

Most popular stories