This year saw the deaths of Elizabeth Taylor, Osama bin Laden, the 'News of the World' and Anglo Irish Bank, writes CIAN NIHILL
Michaela McAreavey(27)
Died January 10th
The teacher, and daughter of Tyrone All-Ireland winning manager Mickey Harte, was murdered while on honeymoon in Mauritius.
Gary Moore(58)
Died February 6th
The Belfast-born guitarist was acclaimed for his work with Thin Lizzy and as a solo artist.
TP McKenna(81)
Died February 13th
Thomas Patrick McKenna was an actor best known for his stage, film and television work spanning more than half-century in Ireland and Britain.
The Sunday Tribune(31)
Last published January 30th
Founded in 1980, the paper ceased publication after several years of heavy losses.
Seán Cronin(91)
Died March 9th
The former IRA chief-of-staff was the mastermind behind the organisation's Border Campaign in the late 1950s. He was also a successful journalist, serving as Washington correspondent with The Irish Timesfor over a decade.
Elizabeth Taylor(79)
Died March 23rd
One of the world's best know movie stars of the 20th century, London-born Elizabeth Taylor starred in movies such as A Place in the Sun(1951), Cat On a Hot Tin Roof(1958), Butterfield 8(1961), Cleopatra(1963) and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?(1966).
Osama Bin Laden(54)
Died May 2nd
The Saudi born founder of al-Qaeda became infamous for masterminding the 9/11 attacks on the US in which nearly 3,000 people died. He was killed in Pakistan by American operatives in a covert operation ordered by US president Barack Obama.
Dr Garret FitzGerald(85)
Died May 19th
Taoiseach of two Fine Gael-led Governments during which time he signed the 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement. He also oversaw Ireland’s first presidency of the European Economic Community in 1975.
Declan Costello(84)
Died June 6th
Former TD, attorney general and president of the High Court, he was considered to be a leading figure in the creation of the modern Fine Gael party. His major contribution to politics was the Just Society document of 1964 which inspired many devotees in Fine Gael.
Brian Lenihan(52)
Died June 10th
Lawyer, Fianna Fáil TD, and minister for finance at a time of economic crisis. His term of office included the 2008 bank guarantee and the 2010 EU-IMF bailout. During his final months, he fought a public battle with pancreatic cancer.
David Dunseith(76)
Died June 30th
The BBC broadcaster hosted the influential Radio Ulster Talkbackcurrent affairs programme for 20 years.
Oliver Napier(75)
Died July 2nd
As a founder and, from 1972 to 1984, leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland, he sought to break the stranglehold that sectarian politics had on the North’s governance since its foundation in 1921.
Betty Ford(93)
Died July 8th
As wife to President Gerald Ford, Betty Ford became the United State’s first lady from 1974 to 1977. Her Betty Ford Centre, which rescued celebrities and ordinary people from addiction, made her famous in her own right.
News of the World(168)
Last published July 10th
The 168-year-old tabloid hit the shelves for a final time as its parent company News International decided to cease its production following a phone hacking scandal.
Amy Winehouse(27)
Died July 23rd
The five time Grammy Award winner’s illustrious career was often overshadowed by drug and alcohol addiction. She was found in her north London home more than five times times over the drink drive limit at the time of her death.
Fr Michael Keane(86)
Died August 27th
Known as “Ireland’s Cupid Priest”, Fr Michael Keane was the founder of Knock Marriage Bureau in 1968.
Gusty Spence(78)
Died September 25th
Augustus Andrew “Gusty” Spence played an important role in the moves that led to the 1994 ceasefire by the Combined Loyalist Military Command in Northern Ireland. A former leader of the UVF, he denounced violence after he was imprisoned for the murder of a Catholic man in 1965.
Steve Jobs(56)
Died October 5th
Steven P Jobs, the visionary co-founder of Apple, helped usher in the era of personal computers and then led a cultural transformation in the way music, films and mobile communications were experienced in the digital age. He was worth an estimated €6.1 billion at the time of his death.
Anglo Irish Bank(48) and Irish Nationwide Building Society(138) Died October 14th
Two of the financial institutions that have cost the Irish taxpayer billions of euro ceased to exist this year and what was left of them was merged into Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, an asset recovery bank, run “in the public interest”.
Muammar Gadafy(69)
Died October 20th
Muammar Gadafy’s 42-year rule of Libya came to an end this year after demonstrations against his dictatorship turned into a bloody civil war, which he eventually lost.
Cathal O'Shannon(83)
Died October 22nd
One of Ireland's best known television journalists, Cathal O'Shannon made his name especially in a series of TV interviews and documentaries during a career that saw him work with The Irish Times, the BBC and RTÉ.
Ireland's Vatican Embassy(82)
Abolished November 3rd
Following strained relations between the Holy See and the Irish State, the Government announced it would close the Embassy to the Vatican on cost grounds. It had been one of the Republic’s oldest diplomatic missions, having been established in 1929.
