Tributes have poured in from politicians and trade unionists for the "inspirational" Belfast feminist activist May Blood, who has died aged 84.
In her community work she tackled social issues like unemployment in west Belfast and also worked for peace in Northern Ireland.
The Integrated Education Fund said that it was that desire for peace that drove her to do "exceptional things for so many people".
From a young age, she worked as a trade unionist striving for better conditions - shorter hours and more money - for the Belfast mills' mostly female workforce was also praised.
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said she would be remembered across Northern Ireland but particularly in west Belfast.
"May Blood epitomised the ethos of the Labour movement, starting out at the age of 14 as an ordinary worker who saw the problems and unfair treatment that existed, particularly for women, and used her skills and formidable nature to secure change."
DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson paid tribute to the Ms Blood describing her as "a fearless and tireless campaigner".
"She was someone steeped in the community and focused entirely on making their lives better."
Ulster Unionist Party leader Doug Beattie said she was "a genuine servant of the people and someone who placed peace, prosperity and fairness at the heart of her politics".
"Her passing is a great loss to Northern Ireland," he said.
ICTU General Secretary Owen Reidy recalled her years as a trade union activist, saying that her life's mission was "the advancement of working people" and challenging sectarianism.
"May Blood learned her politics and her vocation in the vanished world of the mills of Belfast, a harsh environment of long hours and lives shortened by unsafe working conditions.
"From her teenage years, she was active in the Transport & General Workers Union, challenging mill bosses on behalf of a largely female workforce for decency at work and winning more money, shorter hours and better lives.
"She took risks for her neighbours, even being burned out of her home at the start of The Troubles, and later took risks for peace in supporting Labour causes, better housing, integrated education, women's rights and most of all the trade union movement," he said.
Former UUP leader and MLA Mike Nesbitt called her "a force of nature, determined to ensure her community was recognised, helped and assisted".
"She was a role model as a community worker, trade unionist, activist for integrated education and promoter of the needs of the people. She was one of our finest and will be sorely missed."
Archbishop John McDowell said she was "at the heart of progressive movements for community development and reform in Belfast from a very early age".
"May Blood was a formidable presence in any gathering, a quintessential Belfast woman who spoke directly and constructively from the depth of a kind heart, which had been nurtured in a loving home.
"I know that May has been an inspiration and an encouragement to many people, especially to women, and in that sense her influence lives on in the lives of others."
