Irish tunes played at Una's memorial gathering

We drove up to London late in the afternoon taking the old Oxford Road which was quiet and beautiful in the spring sunshine. We were invited to Una McCauley's memorial gathering for her family and friends held in a small community venue in Ealing.

Una died suddenly some weeks ago in Sri Lanka after a recurrence of an illness. She was only 54, but as we heard in the many tributes she had made a huge mark around the world working in childrens' charities such as 'Save the Children'. She went to work in Sri Lanka about five years ago as the head of UNICEF, and two years ago she was given the role as the 'Resident Coordinator for the United Nations' in that country, which is the equivalent of being the head of all the UN organisations based there.

Helena and Una became friends in the late 1980s when they worked together and have been very close ever since. Una went to work in troubled spots around the world including Liberia, Togo, Kenya, Mexico, Panama and finally Sri Lanka. 

I expect Helena will write about Una and their friendship, but I only got to know her better more recently when we visited her in Sri Lanka and I was able to stay on for a further four weeks after Helena had to return home in January 2016. There is a big gap in my blip journal for those seven weeks but I hope to fill them all in due course. Some will feature Una. She was so kind and exceedingly generous to us, as she was to everyone according to the tales we heard tonight.

Her mother Dee arranged the gathering and asked these musicians to play as she knew Una would have wanted. The family is from Ireland and the songs sung by Mary, the harpist on the left, and tunes played by the young flautist and other harpist were beautiful and so moving. On my left sat Emmanuel, one of two sons Una had adopted while she worked in Liberia in West Africa. I spent a lot of time in Colombo with Emmanuel while Una was working, and then with Dee when she later came to stay. Sam is Emmanuel's older brother and he is now a social worker in London, while Emmanuel is in his first year at university there.

Helena and I signed the book of condolences which began prior to Una's funeral in Colombo. It was large and nearly full. There was a two page hand written eulogy to Una signed by the President of Sri Lanka, and countless tributes from people she'd met and befriended through her work there. Interspersed with her friends' moving tributes were heartfelt appreciations by ambassadors and staff of many embassies, as well as by workers from many global and local aid agencies. All that I read said much the same, that she was thanked for her work and her kindness, but also for her friendship and her understanding and the care for their lives and the people they represented.

One entry that stood out was a moving tribute from the representative of the people of Palestine giving thanks for support she had given to their cause. Another large hand written note said 'Una was more Sri Lankan than us! It is a real loss to all of us!' signed by the Secretary of the Prime Minister. 26th February 2018. The Prime Minister also wrote an entry.

Hopefully Dee, Sam and Emmanuel will visit us and we will see them in London in the future. I was pleased that I'd printed some collages of pictures of Una from our visit to Sri Lanka, and was able to give them to the family, as they are good reminders of a life so well lived and a person who was much, much loved. xxx

RIP Una McCauley 1964 – 2018