Former Labour peer and trade unionist Baroness May Blood has died at the age of 84.
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.
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She represented Labour until she stepped down from the House of Lords in 2018.
Baroness Blood, who began work at 14 in the Blackstaff Linen Mill in West Belfast, was involved in community projects throughout her life.
She ran a training initiative for long-term unemployed men in the Shankill Road area and from 1993 to 1999 worked for the Greater Shankill Partnership.
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said Baroness Blood was a "fearless and tireless campaigner to make Northern Ireland a better and more peaceful place".
"She was someone steeped in the community and focused entirely on making their lives better," he said.
"May leaves a lasting legacy, not just amongst the many people her work directly helped, but right across Northern Ireland."
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood fondly described her as a "tireless community activist and advocate for workers to her core".
He added: "Her valuable work towards building peace here will always be celebrated and remembered."
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.
Awarded an MBE in 1995 for her work in labour relations, she also held honourary degrees from Queen's, Ulster and Open universities.
Baroness Blood was also involved with the Integrated Education Fund, which described her a "great friend and champion".
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