Image source, PA Media

People from across Northern Ireland have been sharing their memories and offering their sympathies on the death of the Queen.

She has been hailed as a force for good and reconciliation by political leaders and church leaders from both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Today, a A Royal Gun salute was fired at Hillsborough Castle at 13:00 BST. A total of 96 rounds rang out - one for each year of Queen Elizabeth's life.

Tomorrow, those wishing to pay their respects can do so at Hillsborough Castle during the period of official mourning.

Books of condolence have been opened across Northern Ireland.

We're bringing our live page to a close now but we will continue our coverage throughout the weekend across the BBC News NI website, BBC Newsline and BBC Radio Ulster.

Until then have a very good evening and thanks for joining us.

Image source, Jonathan McCambridge/PA Wire

People may pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle during the period of official mourning, the Northern Ireland Office says.

Traffic and parking will be restricted in Royal Hillsborough Village and a one-way system is now in operation.

There will be special transport from the dedicated Park and Ride facility at the Eikon Centre, Halftown Road, Lisburn, to visit Hillsborough Castle from Saturday 10 September.

There will be no public access to the Castle during this period other than via this Park & Ride service.

Other points to note include:

• On arrival at the Eikon Centre, there will be a security search, before people board coaches for Hillsborough Castle
• Toilets and refreshments will be available at the Eikon Centre
• Large bags, such as backpacks and rucksacks, will not be allowed on the special buses
• A rolling coach service is available for the return journey
• Flowers alone can be laid at the castle. Items such as soft toys will be removed and later donated to local hospitals
• On arrival at Hillsborough Castle, tributes should be handed to an events steward who will lay them in the dedicated area

More information and guidance can be found on the Cabinet Office mourning period guidance web page, external.

Further information on the public transport services is available on Translink’s Website, external.

During "very challenging times" the Queen retained "a great sense of calm and dignity", the Catholic Bishop of Derry has said.

Bishop Donal McKeown expressed his sympathy to all who mourn the Queen.

"Queen Elizabeth lived a life of dedicated public service - at no small personal cost to herself," he said,

Hr called her "a model of duty and commitment".

"It was clear that Queen Elizabeth was a woman with a deep faith in Jesus Christ to whom we commend her.

"May she rest in peace."

The chairman of the John and Pat Hume Foundation, Dr Séan Farran, has extended the foundation's condolences to the Queen's family "and to all who regarded her as their sovereign, especially those in Northern Ireland".

"Her long reign witnessed many changes and developments in British-Irish relationships," Dr Farren, a former NI Executive minister, said.

"As an organisation dedicated to peaceful change-making and reconciliation, the John and Pat Hume Foundation acknowledges her role in promoting reconciliation among the people of these islands.

"Her state visit to Ireland in 2011 will be seen as a transformative occasion in those relationships, and one that marked a new beginning in those relationships.

"May she rest in peace."

Image source, Tim Ireland/PA Wire

Among the Queen's most well-known passions was horse racing.

The outpouring from the horse racing community has been strong and emotional.

Legendary jockey Sir Tony McCoy, better known as AP McCoy, led the tributes on BBC's Evening Extra programme.

"She was a hugely successful owner and breeder for pretty much all her life and she brought so much interest to it," he says.

"I always thought the sport of horse racing was lucky to have such a loyal and passionate supporter of the game," he adds.

Image source, PA Wire

She only missed Royal Ascot for the first time in June 2022.

"I was lucky enough to spend some time with her and she made you feel very at ease - that was one of her special traits.

"She also had a real sense of humour," he adds.

Sir Tony did not go to Buckingham Palace to get his MBE in 2002 as he was racing on the day and when he came to get his OBE she said "nice of you to come along this time".

"I apologised but she told me she got the Racing Post and knew why I had not been there."

Image source, Catherine Patterson

A Belfast schoolboy has received his own little bit of treasure from the palace.

It's been a week of highs and lows for 11-year-old James Patterson - a mixture of joy and sorrow.

Last June, James decided to write to the Queen to wish her well on her Platinum Jubilee.

"I just wanted to congratulate her," he told BBC News NI.

Imagine his surprise when, on Wednesday, a card with a special postmark landed on the doorstep.

It had the royal crest on it. Inside was a picture of the Queen and on the back a picture of her in a more relaxed style. wearing a headscarf.

"She's such a good person and I was so surprised to get the card," said James.

"I felt really good. but then I was so sad to hear she had died."

Florence Walker in Ballinamallard, County Fermanagh, has been looking at photographs of the Royal Visit to the village in 2004, during the Queen’s Golden Jubilee.

Florence said when she was introduced to the ladies of the Friday Club, the Queen replied: “This is not Friday, how come you’re here today?

"That was her sense of humour and they all had a good laugh over that and many of them remembered that."

Florence also recalled the historic visit to Enniskillen during the Diamond Jubilee when the Queen crossed the street from St Macartin’s Church of Ireland Cathedral to St Michael’s Roman Catholic Church.

"It was lovely the way she was received by all of the community and I think that’s the one thing about her, she was the Queen of us all.”

Tidying up of larger towns in the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area will begin tomorrow after negotiations with unions over strike action that has affected bin collections.

The strike, which began on 15 August, involves more than 1,000 council workers who are protesting over their pay and conditions.

The industrial action is being staged by members of the Unite, GMB and Nipsa trade unions and has resulted in no bins being collected in the council area for more than three weeks.

However, following Queen Elizabeth II's death, the Joint Trade Unions, which represents the three unions, and the council have issued a statement confirming that striking workers will be allowed to carry out work in town centres over the weekend.

The statement said this was "in recognition of the need to prepare towns and villages for a period of mourning".

It is understood work will begin in larger towns including Lurgan, Craigavon, Portadown, Armagh, Dromore and Banbridge on Saturday.

This is due to be followed by smaller towns.

Read more here.

BBC News NI headed to Belfast's Shankill Road where there are many murals of the Queen, and she is held dearly in the hearts of the people who live there.

Image source, Mervyn Jess

Among the thousands gathered outside Buckingham Palace, where the standard is flying and the King is in residence, is William Holland from Belfast.

“It’s sad that Elizabeth has passed away but Charles has waited a long time for this moment. He now takes the throne… so I have mixed emotions,” he said.

“The crowds here are tremendous. The amount of people is scary.

"The rain hasn’t put people off and the amount of different cultures here it is really international.”

William said it would be strange now that the Queen has died.

“She has been the Queen as long as I can remember, time will tell how it will affect me.

“We’ll see how good a job Charles does.”

Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Prime Minister Liz Truss spoke by phone this afternoon, with Mr Martin extending his condolences to the UK government, King Charles III and the Royal Family, and the British people on the loss of Queen Elizabeth II.

He also discussed the Queen's historic state visit to Ireland in 2011 and its contribution to advancing reconciliation and relations between the two countries.

Image source, Reuters

The taoiseach also offered his congratulations to the prime minister on her appointment, and discussed a number of issues including the war in Ukraine and the Northern Ireland Protocol.

They agreed to keep in close contact in the weeks ahead.

Former Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader and Northern Ireland first minister Dame Arlene Foster says the Queen took a tremendous interest in Northern Ireland.

"Her work on reconciliation will probably be one of the key parts of her legacy going forward," she says.

Mrs Foster recalled meeting the Queen shortly after becoming first minister.

"When I met her in 2016 we had just left the Euros, we had just been beaten by Wales, and we had a conversation about that," she said.

"But it was very, very open - she put us all at ease, obviously realising that in my case I was a new first minister who was probably quite anxious about meeting Her Majesty The Queen.

Instrumental in arranging the monumental meeting between the Queen and Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness, was Peter Sheridan, the chief executive of Co-operation Ireland.

He tells BBC's Evening Extra that the meeting had been influenced by her state visit the year before to the Republic of Ireland and how well it had gone.

"I don't think anyone could have imagined it ever happening. It was extraordinary in the nature of it," he explains.

"I was feet away from it and I remember thinking I was going to watch it in slow motion to capture the moment," he says.

However he says one thing that struck him was how "ordinary" it was at the same time.

"Here were two people who met, smiled and shook hands, something we all do as humans every day despite the significance of it," he says.

Image source, Paul Faith/PA

"But - it's impossible not to recognise the historical significance of that moment," he says.

Was it her biggest legacy?

"The Queen achieved so much in Anglo-Irish relations on these islands and her own determination to pursue reconciliation was clear from her speech in Dublin Castle - to bow to the past but not be bound by it," he says

"Too often many of us are still bound by it holding us back from better relations on these islands."

Image source, PA Media

People are welcome to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle during the period of official mourning, the Northern Ireland Office has said.

Traffic and parking will be restricted in Royal Hillsborough Village and a one-way system is now in operation.

There will be special transport from the dedicated Park and Ride facility at the Eikon Centre, Halftown Road, Lisburn, to visit Hillsborough Castle from Saturday 10 September.

There will be no public access to the Castle during this period other than via this Park & Ride service.

Other points to note include:

• On arrival at the Eikon Centre, there will be a security search, before people board coaches for Hillsborough Castle.
• Toilets and refreshments will be available at the Eikon Centre.
• Large bags, such as backpacks and rucksacks, will not be allowed on to the Park & Ride buses.
• A rolling coach service is available for the return journey.
• Flowers alone can be laid at the castle. Items such as soft toys will be removed and later donated to local hospitals.
• On arrival at Hillsborough Castle, tributes should be handed to an events steward who will lay them in the dedicated area.

More information and guidance can be found on the Cabinet Office mourning period guidance web page, external.

Further information on the public transport services is available on Translink’s Website, external.

One person who got many birthday cards from the Queen, was Ethel Barbour from Limavady, who died aged 106, less than three months from her 107th birthday, in April 2020.

Her daughter, Miriam Stewart, from Coleraine, sent in a picture of her first 100th birthday card she received in 2013, with great grandson Reuben, and a picture of the last card she received before she died.

Miriam says her mum loved the Queen and her parents, and indeed, the Queen’s grandmother, Queen Mary.

Though, she added, "she wasn’t above criticising the occasional royal who did something she disapproved of".

"She often talked of the radio broadcasts by the Queen's father during World War Two, and gave them great credit for staying in London with their people."

She also met the Queen's sister, Princess Margaret, when she visited Limavady in 1963, and was given the job of entertaining her.

She met the Queen when she accompanied her husband to Buckingham Palace when he got the MBE in 1981.

It's been confirmed that Northern Ireland Assembly members will gather in the assembly chamber in Stormont at 12:30 on Monday to pay tributes to the Queen.

Assembly Speaker Alex Maskey wrote to assembly members to confirm the timing of the sitting.

He also said a book of condolence will open afterwards in Stormont for assembly members and other users of the building.

A link to the official online books of condolences will be posted on the assembly's website.

The letter added that Mr Maskey would meet party whips on Friday evening to make arrangements for the expression of condolences in the chamber on Monday.

The Queen was "prepared to go the second mile, she was an encourager all the way" for the peace process in Northern Ireland, former first minister Peter Robinson told Radio Ulster.

In his role, he met the Queen on a number of occasions and also got to know her in private audiences.

"She was a wonderful person, she was driven by faith and duty," he said.

"Those who met her personally found that infectious spirit she had."

When the cameras were not around, Mr Robinson said that he found she had been "well briefed" and had a ""really acute inquiring mind".

"She went for the kind of areas you weren't expecting. She'd ask: What is it like to work with him?" he said.

This was not just about Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness, the late deputy first minister, but other politicians well known in Northern Ireland, he said.

Speaking about the historic handshake between Her Majesty and Mr McGuinness, he said: "It wasn't an easy occasion for either of the two individuals.

"There was a lot of history on both sides. It was an important part of our overall process.

The flag at the Irish Embassy in London has been lowered to half-mast.

On Thursday, flags outside government buildings in the Republic of Ireland were lowered to half-mast.

Taoiseach (Irish PM) Micheál Martin said that the Queen's death marked the "end of an era".

"Her dedication to duty and public service were self-evident and her wisdom and experience truly unique," a statement said.

"Her popularity with the Irish people was also very evident and clearly made a very positive impact on the Queen."

People on the Falls Road in west Belfast and parishioners coming out of Mass at St Mary's Church in Belfast have been giving their reaction to the news of Queen Elizabeth II's death.

Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council is closing a number of facilities as a mark of respect to Queen Elizabeth II.

Allen Park, Antrim Forum, Ballyearl, Crumlin Leisure Centre, Sixmile Leisure Centre and the Valley Leisure Centre will all be closed on Saturday and Sunday.

Theatre performances and events are also cancelled during the period of mourning.

Image source, Geograph

An online Book of Condolence, external has been opened and people can pay their respects in person, with books of condolence available at Antrim Castle Gardens, Ballyclare War Memorial Park and Mossley Mill Civic Square from 9am to 8pm each day.

The County Antrim Accession Proclamation will be held at Antrim Castle Garden on Sunday 11 September at 3pm. The Proclamation will be led by Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant, the High Sheriff of County Antrim and the Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey. Members of the public are invited and should be in attendance from 2.30pm.

Elected members will pay tribute to the Queen at a Special Council Meeting on Monday 12 September at 6.30pm. The meeting will live streamed through the council’s website.