Notable Alumni of Queen’s University Belfast [Sorted List]

1. Frederick G. Donnan

1870-1956 (aged 86)

university teacher chemist physicist

Frederick George Donnan was a Ceylonese-born British chemist who is known for the Gibbs–Donnan effect describing ionic transport in cells. He spent most of his career at University College London.

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2. Fionnuala Ní Aoláin

1967-. (aged 59)

university teacher adviser jurist

Fionnuala Ní Aoláin is an Irish academic lawyer specialising in human rights law. She was the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism for the United Nations Human Rights Council from August 1, 2017 - November 2023.

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3. John Newell Jordan

1852-1925 (aged 73)

diplomat

Sir John Newell Jordan GCMG GCIE KCB PC was a British diplomat.

4. Brian Ervine

1951-. (aged 75)

songwriter

Brian Ervine is a Northern Irish playwright, songwriter, teacher and former Ulster loyalist politician, based in Belfast. The Northern Irish playwright St John Ervine (1883–1971) was a distant relative. As a politician, he served as leader of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) from 2010 to 2011, having succeeded Dawn Purvis. Ervine's wife, Linda, serves as the Irish Language Officer at...

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5. Edwin Lawrence Godkin

1831-1902 (aged 71)

editor writer journalist

Edwin Lawrence Godkin was an American journalist and newspaper editor. He founded The Nation and was the editor-in-chief of the New York Evening Post from 1883 to 1899.

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6. Donal McKeown

1950-. (aged 76)

Catholic priest Catholic bishop

Dónal McKeown is a Roman Catholic prelate from Northern Ireland who has served as Bishop of Derry since 2014.

7. Louise Kennedy

1967-. (aged 59)

writer chef

Louise Kennedy is an Irish writer.

8. Alistair Cooke, Baron Lexden

1945-. (aged 81)

historian politician

Alistair Basil Cooke, Baron Lexden, OBE, is a British historian, author and politician who sits as a Conservative life peer in the House of Lords.

9. Simon Hamilton

1977-. (aged 49)

politician

Simon Hamilton is a Northern Irish businessman, consultant and former Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician. Hamilton served as the Economy Minister in the Northern Ireland Executive from 2016, until its collapse in January 2017. He was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Strangford from 2007 to 2019.

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10. Kate Devlin

computer scientist artificial intelligence researcher archaeologist

Adela Katharine Devlin, is a Northern Irish computer scientist specialising in Artificial intelligence and Human–computer interaction (HCI). She is best known for her work on human sexuality and robotics and was co-chair of the annual Love and Sex With Robots convention in 2016 held in London and was founder of the UK's first ever sex tech hackathon held in 2016...

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11. Chris Henry

1984-. (aged 42)

rugby union player

Chris Henry is a former Irish rugby union rugby player. He played for Ireland, Ulster and Ballymena Rugby Club.

12. John Larkin

1963-. (aged 63)

John F. Larkin KC, is the former Attorney General for Northern Ireland.

13. Margaret Ritchie

1958-. (aged 68)

politician

Margaret Mary Ritchie, Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick, is a Northern Irish politician who was the Leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) from 2010 to 2011. She was previously a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for South Down from 2003 to 2012, and was the Minister for Social Development in the Northern Ireland Executive from 2007...

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14. Nelson McCausland

1951-. (aged 75)

politician

Nelson McCausland is a Northern Irish columnist and former Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician who was Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure (2009–2011) and subsequently Minister for Social Development (2011–2014) in the Northern Ireland Executive.

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15. Robert Henry Charles

1855-1931 (aged 76)

translator theologian university teacher Bible translator

Robert Henry Charles, FBA (Cookstown, 6 August 1855 – Westminster, 1931) was an Irish Anglican theologian, biblical scholar, professor, and translator from Northern Ireland. He is known particularly for his English translations of numerous apocryphal and pseudepigraphal Ancient Hebrew writings, including the Book of Jubilees (1895), the Apocalypse of Baruch (1896), the Ascension of Isaiah (1900), the Book of Enoch...

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16. Jonathan Bell

1970-. (aged 56)

politician

Jonathan Fergus Bell is a former Northern Irish unionist politician.

17. Richard Davies

1959-. (aged 67)

physician

Richard Andrew Davies CStJ CF is a British-born New Zealand doctor. He is the viceregal consort of New Zealand as the husband of Dame Cindy Kiro, who has been the Governor-General since 21 October 2021. Davies previously served as a member of the Falkland Islands Legislative Council from 2005 to 2007, and represented the Falkland Islands at the United Nations...

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18. Maurice Hayes

1927-2017 (aged 90)

politician

Maurice Hayes was an Irish public servant and, late in life, an independent member of both the 21st and 22nd Seanad. Hayes was nominated by the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, in 1997 and re-nominated in 2002. He also served, at the Taoiseach's request, as Chairman of the National Forum on Europe in the Republic of Ireland.

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19. Nuala McKeever

actor comedian television producer

Nuala McKeever is an actress from Belfast, Northern Ireland.

20. Neasa Hourigan

1980-. (aged 46)

architect politician

Neasa Hourigan is an Irish Green Party politician who was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Central constituency from 2020 until 2024. She was Chair of the Committee on Budgetary Oversight from September 2020 until being suspended from the parliamentary party in March 2023.

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21. Monica McWilliams

1954-. (aged 72)

politician

Monica Mary McWilliams is a Northern Irish academic, peace activist, human rights defender and former politician.

22. Ty McCormick

journalist

Ty McCormick is an American author, foreign correspondent, and magazine editor. He is currently a senior editor of Foreign Affairs, the magazine published by the Council on Foreign Relations. From 2015 to 2018, he was the Africa editor at Foreign Policy magazine. His writing has also appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times.

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23. Caoimhe Archibald

1981-. (aged 45)

politician pathologist

Caoimhe Archibald is an Irish Sinn Féin politician, who has served as the Minister for the Economy in Northern Ireland since February 2025. She previously served as Minister for Finance, and has been a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for East Londonderry since May 2016.

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24. Clare Bailey

1970-. (aged 56)

politician

Clare Bailey is a Northern Irish activist and former politician who was the Leader of Green Party Northern Ireland from November 2018 to August 2022, having been deputy leader of the party from 2014 to 2017. Bailey was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Belfast South from 2016 to 2022.

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25. Desmond FitzGerald

1888-1947 (aged 59)

diplomat poet politician

Desmond FitzGerald was an Irish revolutionary, politician, and poet, known for his role in the Irish independence movement and for his ministerial roles in Irish governments; he was Director of Publicity from 1919 to 1921, Minister for Publicity from 1921 to 1922, Minister for External Affairs from 1922 to 1927 and finally Minister for Defence from 1927 to 1932. Born...

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26. Pádraig Ó Tuama

presenter theologian poet

Pádraig Ó Tuama is an Irish poet, theologian and conflict mediator.

27. Jack Kyle

1926-2014 (aged 88)

physician rugby union player humanitarian

John Wilson Kyle OBE, most commonly known as Jack Kyle, was a rugby union player who represented Ireland, the British and Irish Lions and the Barbarians during the 1940s and 1950s. Kyle was a member of the Irish team that won the grand slam in the 1948 Five Nations Championship. In 1950, Kyle was declared one of the six players...

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28. Sir John Parker

1942-. (aged 84)

engineer entrepreneur supervisory board

Sir Thomas John Parker is a British businessman. He is chairman of Laing O'Rourke and former chairman of Pennon Group, a director of Carnival Corporation & plc and lead non-executive director at the Cabinet Office. He has been a director or chairman of numerous other public companies including Airbus, Anglo American plc, Babcock International, British Gas, DP World, Lattice Group,...

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29. Michelle McIlveen

1971-. (aged 55)

politician

Michelle McIlveen MLA is a Northern Irish unionist politician, serving as Deputy Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) since 2025 She has been a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Strangford since 2007. She is also the party's Spokesperson for Environment, Climate and Fisheries. McIlveen served as the Secretary of the DUP from 2008 until 2025. She has...

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30. Máirtín Ó Muilleoir

1959-. (aged 67)

politician

Máirtín Ó Muilleoir is an Irish Sinn Féin politician, author, publisher, and businessman, who served as the 70th Lord Mayor of Belfast from 2013 to 2014.

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31. Ernest Blythe

1889-1975 (aged 86)

politician

Ernest William Blythe was an Irish journalist, politician and managing director of the Abbey Theatre. He served as Minister for Local Government from 1922 to 1923, Minister for Finance from 1923 to 1932 and Minister for Posts and Telegraphs and Vice-President of the Executive Council from 1927 to 1932. He was a Senator for the Labour Panel from 1934 to...

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32. Joanne Hogg

musician

Joanne Hogg is a Northern Irish musician, best known for her work as the lead singer and songwriter with the Celtic Christian progressive rock band Iona.

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33. Jim Wells

1957-. (aged 69)

politician

Jim Wells is a Northern Irish unionist politician who was Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety from 2014 to 2015. He additionally served on an interim basis as deputy speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly between 2006 and 2007.

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34. Cormac McAnallen

1980-2004 (aged 24)

Gaelic football player

Cormac McAnallen was an Irish Gaelic footballer who played for the Eglish St Patrick's club and the Tyrone county team.

35. William George Aston

1841-1911 (aged 70)

translator diplomat linguist writer

William George Aston CMG was an Anglo-Irish diplomat, author, and scholar of the languages and histories of Korea and Japan.

36. Órfhlaith Begley

1991-. (aged 35)

politician

Órfhlaith Begley is an Irish Sinn Féin politician and solicitor who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for West Tyrone since a 2018 by-election.

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37. Chris Hazzard

1984-. (aged 42)

politician

Christopher John Hazzard is an Irish Sinn Féin politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for South Down since 2017. He previously served as Minister for Infrastructure from 2016 to 2017 and as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for South Down from 2012 to 2017.

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38. Martin McAleese

1951-. (aged 75)

dentist politician

Martin McAleese is an Irish politician, dentist and accountant who has served as the Chancellor of Dublin City University since August 2011. He served as a Senator from 2011 to 2013, after being Nominated by the Taoiseach. He is the husband of former president of Ireland, Mary McAleese.

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39. Robin Eames

1937-. (aged 89)

politician Anglican priest

Robert Henry Alexander Eames, Baron Eames is an Anglican bishop and life peer, who served as Primate of All Ireland and Archbishop of Armagh from 1986 to 2006.

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40. Claire Sugden

1986-. (aged 40)

politician council member

Claire Sugden is a Northern Irish politician who was the Minister of Justice in the fourth Northern Ireland Executive from May 2016 to March 2017. She is a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for East Londonderry, having been co-opted to the position after the death of David McClarty in 2014, and won election to the seat in 2016, 2017...

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41. Reg Empey

1947-. (aged 79)

politician

Reginald Norman Morgan Empey, Baron Empey, OBE, best known as Reg Empey, is a Northern Irish politician who served as the acting First Minister of Northern Ireland in 2001. He was the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 2005 to 2010 and served as chairman of the party from 2012 to 2019. Empey was a Member of the...

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42. John Alderdice

1955-. (aged 71)

psychiatrist politician

John Thomas Alderdice, Baron Alderdice, is a Northern Ireland politician. He was the Speaker and a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for East Belfast from 1998 to 2004 and 1998 to 2003, respectively. Alderdice was the leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland from 1987 to 1998, and since 1996 has sat in the House of Lords...

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43. David Humphreys

1971-. (aged 55)

lawyer rugby union player

David Humphreys MBE is an Irish former rugby union player. He played 72 times for Ireland, scoring 560 points, including 6 tries, and at the time of his international retirement was Ireland's most capped out-half. He played his club rugby for London Irish and Ulster, winning the 1998-99 Heineken Cup, the 2004 Celtic Cup and the 2005–06 Celtic League with...

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44. Christopher Stalford

1983-2022 (aged 39)

politician council member

Christopher David Matthew Stalford was a Northern Irish politician who was a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for South Belfast from the 2016 election until his death in 2022.

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45. Austin Currie

1939-2021 (aged 82)

politician

Joseph Austin Currie was an Irish politician who served as a Minister of State with responsibility for Children's Rights from 1994 to 1997. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin West constituency from 1989 to 2002, representing Fine Gael, and as a Member of the Parliament of Northern Ireland (MP) for East Tyrone from 1964 to 1972,...

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46. Donie O'Sullivan

1990-. (aged 36)

television producer correspondent reporter journalist

Donie O'Sullivan is a senior correspondent working for CNN in New York City. Born in Ireland, he holds both Irish and US citizenship.

47. Zoe Salmon

1980-. (aged 46)

television presenter beauty pageant contestant lawyer

Zoe Salmon is a Northern Irish television presenter. She hosted the children's television programme Blue Peter from 23 December 2004 to 25 June 2008. She also appeared on Dancing on Ice in early 2009. She was the 1999 Miss Northern Ireland.

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48. Jonathan Scott

1978-. (aged 48)

interior designer television actor

Jonathan Scott is an English zoologist, wildlife photographer and television presenter specializing in African wildlife.

49. Eoin Ó Broin

1972-. (aged 54)

string player columnist politician

Eoin Ó Broin is an Irish Sinn Féin politician and writer who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for Dublin Mid-West constituency since the 2016 general election.

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50. Afifi al-Akiti

1976-. (aged 50)

ulema writer

Muhammad Afifi al-Akiti, also known as Shaykh Afifi, is the KFAS Fellow in Islamic Studies at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies. He is also the Islamic Centre Lecturer in Islamic Studies at the Faculty of Theology, University of Oxford, and is a Fellow of Worcester College, Oxford. He is the first Malay to be appointed to such a position...

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51. Robert Wilson Lynd

1879-1949 (aged 70)

journalist writer

Robert Wilson Lynd was an Irish writer, editor of poetry, urbane literary essayist, socialist and Irish nationalist.

52. Nell McCafferty

1944-2024 (aged 80)

women's rights activist playwright journalist

Ellen Pamela McCafferty was an Irish journalist, playwright, civil rights campaigner and feminist. She wrote for The Irish Press, The Irish Times, Sunday Tribune, Hot Press and The Village Voice.

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53. Brian Kerr, Baron Kerr of Tonaghmore

1948-2020 (aged 72)

judge

Brian Francis Kerr, Baron Kerr of Tonaghmore, was a Northern Irish barrister and a senior judge. He held office as Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland and then as a justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. In 2009, he was the last person to receive a law life peerage under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876. At the...

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54. Diane Dodds

1958-. (aged 68)

politician

Diane Jean Dodds, Baroness Dodds of Duncairn, MLA, is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician in Northern Ireland. She served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Northern Ireland constituency from 2009 to 2020. She previously sat in the Northern Ireland Assembly from 2003 to 2007 as MLA for West Belfast. In 2020, Dodds returned to the...

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55. Stephen Farry

1971-. (aged 55)

politician

Stephen Anthony Farry is a Northern Irish academic and former politician who was the deputy leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland from December 2016 to September 2024. Farry was the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Down from 2019, until he lost his seat to independent unionist Alex Easton at the 2024 general election.

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56. Eamonn McCann

1943-. (aged 83)

writer peace activist journalist politician

Eamonn McCann is an Irish political activist, former politician and journalist from Derry, Northern Ireland. McCann was a People Before Profit (PBP) Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Foyle from 2016 to 2017. In 2019, he was elected to Derry City and Strabane District Council, remaining in the position until his resignation for health reasons in March 2021.

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57. Joseph Larmor

1857-1942 (aged 85)

mathematician physicist university teacher politician

Sir Joseph Larmor was an Irish mathematician, theoretical physicist, and British politician who made breakthroughs in the understanding of electricity, dynamics, thermodynamics, and the electron theory of matter. His most influential work was Aether and Matter, a theoretical physics book published in 1900.

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58. Andrew Trimble

1984-. (aged 42)

rugby union player

Andrew Trimble is a former Irish rugby union player from Northern Ireland who played for Ulster and represented Ireland at international level.

59. Eamon Martin

1961-. (aged 65)

Catholic priest theologian philosopher mathematician Catholic bishop

Eamon Columba Martin KC*HS is an Irish Catholic prelate from Northern Ireland who has served as Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland since 2014.

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60. Eoin MacNeill

1867-1945 (aged 78)

university teacher civil servant writer historian politician

Eoin MacNeill was an Irish scholar, Irish language enthusiast, Gaelic revivalist, nationalist and politician who served as Minister for Education from 1922 to 1925, Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann from 1921 to 1922, Minister for Industries 1919 to 1921 and Minister for Finance January 1919 to April 1919. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1918 to 1927. He...

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61. Gavin Robinson

1984-. (aged 42)

politician barrister

Gavin James Robinson is a Northern Irish unionist politician and barrister who has been serving as Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) since March 2024. He served as Deputy DUP Leader from June 2023 to May 2024. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Belfast East in the UK House of Commons since the 2015 general election....

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62. Ramli Ngah Talib

1941-. (aged 85)

politician

Ramli bin Ngah Talib is a Malaysian politician and lawyer who has served as the 9th Governor of Penang since 1 May 2025. He served as the 8th Menteri Besar of Perak from March 1982 until December 1999 and Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat from November 2004 until February 2008. He is a member of the United Malays National Organisation,...

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63. Philip Pettit

1945-. (aged 81)

university teacher political scientist philosopher

Philip Noel Pettit AC is an Irish philosopher and political theorist. He is at the Laurance Rockefeller University Professor of Human Values at Princeton University and also Distinguished University Professor of Philosophy at the Australian National University.

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64. Paul Muldoon

1951-. (aged 75)

university teacher poet writer

Paul Muldoon is an Irish poet, born in 1951. He has published more than thirty collections and won a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and the T. S. Eliot Prize. At Princeton University he has been both the Howard G. B. Clark '21 University Professor in the Humanities and Founding Chair of the Lewis Center for the Arts. He held the...

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65. Tim Collins

1956-. (aged 70)

chief executive officer

Colonel Timothy Thomas Cyril Collins OBE is a retired Northern Irish military officer in the British Army. Before the Iraq War in 2003, he gave an eve-of-battle speech which was widely reported. United States President George W. Bush later had a copy of it displayed in the White House's Oval Office. He is the chairman and co-founder of intelligence-based security...

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66. Joe Brolly

1969-. (aged 57)

hurler Gaelic football player barrister

Joe Brolly is an Irish Gaelic football analyst, coach, selector, former player and barrister who played at senior level for the Derry county team. He is from Dungiven.

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67. Nigel Dodds

1958-. (aged 68)

politician barrister

Nigel Alexander Dodds, Baron Dodds of Duncairn, OBE, PC, is a Northern Irish unionist politician and barrister serving as Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in the House of Lords since 2021. He previously served as deputy leader of the DUP from 2008 to 2021 and leader of the DUP in the House of Commons from 2010 to 2019.

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68. Ian Paisley Jr

1966-. (aged 60)

politician

Ian Richard Kyle Paisley Jr is a Northern Irish businessman and former unionist politician. A member of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), he served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Antrim from 2010 to 2024, and was previously a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for North Antrim from 1998 to 2010. Paisley is the DUP's Spokesperson for...

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69. Sammy Wilson

1953-. (aged 73)

politician

Samuel Wilson is a British politician who has served as Chief Whip of the Democratic Unionist Party in the House of Commons since 2019. Wilson has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for East Antrim since 2005.

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70. Nick Ross

1947-. (aged 79)

radio personality television presenter

Nicholas David Ross is an English radio and television presenter. During the 1980s and 1990s he was one of the most ubiquitous of British broadcasters but is best known for hosting the BBC Television programme Crimewatch, which he left in 2007 after 23 years. He has subsequently filmed a series for BBC One called The Truth About Crime and has...

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71. Jim Allister

1953-. (aged 73)

politician barrister

James Hugh Allister KC is a Northern Irish unionist politician and barrister who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons for North Antrim since the 2024 general election. He founded the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) in 2007 and has led the party since its formation. Prior to his election to Westminster, Allister was a member...

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72. Emma Little-Pengelly

1979-. (aged 47)

politician barrister

Emma Little-Pengelly is a Northern Irish barrister and Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician serving as Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland since February 2024. She has been a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Lagan Valley since May 2022, when she was co-opted (appointed) to replace then-DUP party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, who declined to take up his seat...

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73. Naomi Long

1971-. (aged 55)

politician civil engineer

Naomi Rachel Long MLA is a Northern Irish politician who has served as Minister of Justice in the Northern Ireland Executive since February 2024, having previously served from January 2020 to October 2022. She has served as leader of the Alliance Party since 2016 and a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Belfast East since 2020.

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74. Stephen Nolan

1973-. (aged 53)

television presenter

Stephen Raymond Nolan is a Northern Irish radio and television presenter for BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Radio 5 Live. Nolan is the highest earning BBC broadcaster in Northern Ireland. In the 2023–2024 financial year he earned a salary in the range of £405,000–£409,999 for his work on BBC Radio Ulster (which is almost always broadcast on BBC Radio Foyle...

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75. Christine Bleakley

1979-. (aged 47)

television presenter

Christine Louise Lampard is a Northern Irish television presenter. She has presented various television programmes with Adrian Chiles, such as The One Show (2007–2010) and Daybreak (2010–2011), while with Phillip Schofield she has presented Dancing on Ice (2012–2014) and This Morning (2013–2016, 2023, 2025). Lampard has also presented factual series for ITV including Off The Beaten Track (2013) and Wild...

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76. Arlene Foster

1970-. (aged 56)

lawyer politician

Arlene Isobel Foster, Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee, is a British broadcaster and politician from Northern Ireland who is serving as Chair of Intertrade UK since September 2024. She previously served as First Minister of Northern Ireland from 2016 to 2017 and 2020 to 2021 and leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 2015 to 2021. Foster was the first...

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77. Mary McAleese

1951-. (aged 75)

barrister university teacher politician writer journalist

Mary Patricia McAleese is an Irish activist lawyer, academic, author, and former politician who served as the president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. McAleese was first elected as president in 1997, having received the nomination of Fianna Fáil. She succeeded Mary Robinson, making her the second female president of Ireland and the first woman in the world...

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78. Lisa McGee

playwright screenwriter

Elizabeth "Lisa" McGee is an Irish playwright and screenwriter. McGee is the creator and writer of Derry Girls, a hit comedy series that began airing on Channel 4 in the UK in January 2018. In 2018, she was listed as one of BBC's 100 Women and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2022.

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79. Annie Mac

1978-. (aged 48)

podcaster musician

Annie Macmanus, known professionally as Annie Mac, is an Irish DJ, broadcaster and writer. She hosted a variety of shows on BBC Radio 1, including BBC Switch and Future Sounds. She also DJed in various locations, including hosting her AMP (Annie Mac Presents) Lost and Found venues in places like Ibiza.

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80. Bernadette Devlin McAliskey

1947-. (aged 79)

politician

Josephine Bernadette McAliskey, usually known as Bernadette Devlin or Bernadette McAliskey, is an Irish civil rights leader and former politician. She served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Ulster in Northern Ireland from a 1969 by-election until February 1974. McAliskey came to national and international prominence at the age of 21 when she became the youngest woman ever...

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81. David Trimble

1944-2022 (aged 78)

university teacher barrister politician

William David Trimble, Baron Trimble, PC was a Northern Irish statesman and politician who was the inaugural First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2002 and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1995 to 2005. He was also Member of Parliament (MP) for Upper Bann from 1990 to 2005 and Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for...

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82. Paddy Mayne

1915-1955 (aged 40)

boxer rugby union player solicitor military personnel

Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Blair Mayne, DSO & Three Bars, best known as Paddy Mayne or familiarly as Blair, was a British Army officer from Newtownards. He was an amateur boxing champion, qualified as a solicitor and played rugby union for Ireland and the British Lions before becoming a founding member of the Special Air Service (SAS).

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83. Simon Callow

1949-. (aged 77)

film director writer actor film actor screenwriter

Simon Phillip Hugh Callow CBE is an English actor. Known as a character actor on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including an Olivier Award and Screen Actors Guild Award as well as nominations for two BAFTA Awards. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to acting by Queen...

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84. Martin O'Neill

1952-. (aged 74)

Gaelic football player association football coach association football player

Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently the manager of Scottish Premiership club Celtic.

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85. Seamus Heaney

1939-2013 (aged 74)

playwright linguist actor university teacher writer

Seamus Justin Heaney MRIA was an Irish poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature. Among his best-known works is Death of a Naturalist (1966), his first major published volume. American poet Robert Lowell described him as "the most important Irish poet since Yeats", and many others, including the academic John Sutherland, have said that he...

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86. Hulusi Akar

1952-. (aged 74)

politician soldier

Hulusi Akar is a retired four-star Turkish Armed Forces general who served as the Minister of National Defense from 2018 to 2023. He previously served as the 29th chief of the Turkish General Staff. Akar also served as a brigade commander in various NATO engagements including the International Security Assistance Force against the Taliban insurgency, Operation Deliberate Force during the...

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87. Patrick Kielty

1971-. (aged 55)

Gaelic football player stand-up comedian television presenter comedian

Patrick Kielty is a comedian, presenter and actor from Northern Ireland. He is the host of The Late Late Show on RTÉ One and presents a Saturday morning programme on BBC Radio 5 Live. His television credits include the BBC's Patrick Kielty Almost Live and Channel 4's Last Chance Lottery. He has also presented ITV's Love Island and This Morning.

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88. Stephen Rea

1946-. (aged 80)

television actor stage actor actor film actor

Stephen Rea is an Irish actor. Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, he began his career as a member of Dublin's Focus Theatre, and played many roles on the stage and on Irish television. He came to the attention of international film audiences in Irish filmmaker Neil Jordan's 1992 film The Crying Game, and subsequently starred in many more of Jordan's...

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89. Liam Neeson

1952-. (aged 74)

stage actor television actor voice actor actor film actor

William John Neeson is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has received several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three Golden Globe Awards, two Tony Awards and one Volpi Cup. With a film career spanning more than forty years, Neeson is regarded as one of Ireland's greatest film actors. Films in which he has appeared have...

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90. Ciarán Hinds

1953-. (aged 73)

television actor stage actor actor film actor

Ciarán Hinds is an Irish actor from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Hinds is known for a range of screen and stage roles. He has starred in feature films including The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989), Persuasion (1995), Oscar and Lucinda (1997), Road to Perdition (2002), The Sum of All Fears (2002), Munich (2005), Amazing Grace (2007), There...

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91. Órlaithí Flynn

1988-. (aged 38)

politician

Órlaithí Flynn is an Irish politician and MLA who represents Belfast West in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

92. Conor Murphy

1963-. (aged 63)

politician

Conor Terence Murphy is an Irish Sinn Féin politician, who has served as a senator for the Industrial and Commercial Panel since January 2025. He previously served as Minister for the Economy of Northern Ireland from 2024 to 2025. He served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Newry and Armagh from 2015 until 2025, having previously served...

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93. Mark Durkan

1960-. (aged 66)

politician

Mark Durkan is a retired Irish nationalist politician from Northern Ireland. Durkan was the Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland from November 2001 to October 2002, and the Leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) from 2001 to 2010. He contested the Dublin constituency for Fine Gael at the 2019 European Parliament election.

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94. John Stewart Bell

1928-1990 (aged 62)

mathematician translator physicist

John Stewart Bell FRS was a physicist from Northern Ireland and the originator of Bell's theorem, an important theorem in quantum physics regarding hidden-variable theories.

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95. W. Brian Arthur

1946-. (aged 80)

university teacher economist

William Brian Arthur is a Belfast-born economist credited with developing the modern approach to increasing returns. He has lived and worked in Northern California for many years. He is an authority on economics in relation to complexity theory, technology and financial markets. He has been on the external faculty at the Santa Fe Institute, and a Visiting Researcher at the...

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96. John Taylor

1937-. (aged 89)

politician

Nigel John Taylor is a British musician who is best known as the bass guitarist for new wave band Duran Duran, of which he was a founding member. Duran Duran was one of the most popular bands in the world during the 1980s due in part to their music videos which played in heavy rotation in the early days of...

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97. Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin

1950-2018 (aged 68)

composer pianist ethnomusicologist university teacher

Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin was an Irish musician, composer, academic and educationalist.

98. Toiréasa Ferris

1980-. (aged 46)

politician

Toiréasa Ferris is an Irish former Sinn Féin politician who has served as a Kerry County Councillor for Tralee from 2003 to 2019.

99. Gay Mitchell

1951-. (aged 75)

politician

Gabriel Mitchell is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Minister of State for European Affairs from 1994 to 1997 and Lord Mayor of Dublin from 1992 to 1993. He served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Dublin constituency from 2004 to 2014 and a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin South-Central constituency from...

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100. Francis Campbell

1970-. (aged 56)

diplomat

Francis Martin-Xavier Campbell is a British diplomat and academic. Since January 2020, he has been the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Notre Dame Australia. From 2014 to 2020, he was the Vice-Chancellor of St Mary's University, Twickenham. From 2005 to 2011, he was the British Ambassador to the Holy See. He is an Honorary Fellow of St Edmund's College, Cambridge.

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