An Irishman saved “hundreds of thousands of lives” through his work as director of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) polio eradication programme and in other United Nations (UN) roles, his funeral Mass has heard.
Aidan O’Leary, a Dublin-born former Irish Army captain, died suddenly on August 6th while on holiday with his family in Portugal.
Mourners who gathered at the Church of St John the Apostle in Knocknacarra, Galway heard Mr O’Leary had a deep commitment to humanitarian work and was adept at bringing people together in whatever he was doing.
Canon Tadhg Quinn told mourners he met Mr O’Leary 10 years ago and was impressed “by the way he would brighten up your day and put a smile on your face”. He recalled Mr O’Leary’s association with the local GAA club and his ability to bring people together in whatever role he had.
He said that wherever Mr O’Leary was working in the world, he and his wife Karen would start the day by exchanging text messages and end their day with up to two hours of a video call.
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“He was a man who tried to save and change the world,” Canon Quinn said. “It was a pleasure to be part of his life.”
Among those in attendance were President Michael D Higgins, who last week remembered Mr O’Leary as “a wonderful person who dedicated his life to helping those living in the most difficult, war-torn parts of the world”.
Taoiseach Simon Harris was represented by his aide de camp, Capt Cathal McSweeney, and a number of Mr O’Leary’s former Army colleagues were also in attendance. The principal mourners were Mr O’Leary’s wife Karen, his children Darragh and Eimear, mother Pauline and siblings Mary-Liz, Eoin and Art.
In a eulogy, Eimear O’Leary recalled her father’s career as head of office in Yemen for the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, with the Gaza-based UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (Unrwa) and as chief of polio eradication in Pakistan and Afghanistan with the WHO.
Ms O’Leary told the congregation she used to joke that when her dad went abroad he was going “off to save the world” in his role as “some UN superstar”.
However, she added that while he helped to save “hundreds of thousands of lives” through his work, to her and her brother, Darragh, he was “one hell of a father” who attended swimming competitions and football matches in support of his children.
“He was my best friend and a man I was always unbelievably proud to call my father,” she said, adding that “his death has been a terrible loss”.
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