Sister Una Moane passed away peacefully in St. James' Hospital, Dublin on Sunday November 13, 2005.

Originally from Westport,  Co Mayo, Ireland,  Una was not yet 20 when she joined the Columban Sisters. After her profession of vows in 1948 she trained as a nurse in St. Vincent's Hospital in  Dublin before going to Hong Kong in 1952.

She returned to the Motherhouse in Magheramore, Wicklow Ireland in 1989 where, until the time of her death, she was an active member of the community. She will be greatly missed by all.

During her years in Hong Kong  she entered wholeheartedly into the mission – looking after the patients in the Ruttonjee Sanatorium.  At the time tuberculosis was rife, with a high mortality rate. In the hot, humid climate of Hong Kong the work was demanding. In that tightly packed city of refugees from China, Una met the ‘little ones’ – the very poor and the very sick and saw in them the Christ to whom she had handed over her life as a missionary. Not only did she attend to their immediate needs but, with others on the Team in Ruttonjee, she oversaw and facilitated the detailed clinical trials authorized by the Government and the British Medical Research Council in London. These trials would test the action of new drugs for the eradication of the killer disease. To this meticulous and time-consuming work Una brought not only her fine judgement and unflagging discipline but her enthusiasm. This research was responsible for making Hong Kong a leading centre for the treatment and management of tuberculosis; it was a ray of light for millions of sufferers.

Seeing that many had to stay on in hospital for extended periods Una began a number of diversional and educational programmes to lift their spirits, give them a focus and a sense of play. Her creativity found expression in the drama, art, singing and English and occupational therapy sessions she organized and which the patients responded to with delight. No boredom allowed!

Nor did she forget those who, while still on anti-TB drugs lived at home. With Sister  Inez Lee she began a home-visitation programme to help and encourage them in their long-term treatment. A woman of few words she lived her charism with deep conviction, responding to the call of Christ, ‘As often as you do it to one of these, you do it to me.’

It was this love that urged her to take up the cause of the boat people from Vietnam who were arriving in thousands to Hong Kong. By that time the Sisters had  moved on from Ruttonjee and Una, seeing that these unwanted refugees ‘had no wine’ did her best to alleviate their sufferings. Making the long journey to their camps in the early mornings she would work on their cases, fearlessly accosting the Social Services and Government Departments on their behalf. Her quiet, unobtrusive manner belied the steel in her soul; in her the poor, lost refugees found a true friend, a woman whose finely developed sense of justice would not be appeased by false promises.

She was called home on the eve of her 79th  birthday.  Her funeral Mass was celebrated in the convent chapel in Magheramore on Wednesday November 16, 2005, after which she was laid to rest in the convent cemetery.

May her gentle soul rest in peace

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