The music icons, literary giants, sporting and political legends who left us in 2021

Another year gone, and another year where we lost many of those who were beloved and remembered for a variety of reasons. From sport to the cinema screen, and from the airwaves to the political arena, a number of luminaries from around the world bid their final farewell in 2021, writes Sean Murray 

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, veteran of South Africa’s struggle against apartheid and a “man of profound wisdom", died this month. Photo: Leon Farrell/RollingNews.ie

IRELAND

In September, Cork mourned the late, great Billa O’Connell, who passed away at the age of 91.