Madam, – Both Ireland and the US have lost a fine citizen in Andrew Grene, a dedicated development worker and distinguished UN officer who perished in the Haiti earthquake.
I met Andrew when he was a young aspiring journalist in Washington 20 years ago, and I followed with enthusiasm his migration to UN service in the tradition of one of his father’s oldest friends, Conor Cruise O’Brien, another Irishman who worked with distinction in another dangerous milieu, the Congo.
I know that Andrew was inspired by Conor’s UN service and dedication to pluralism in Ireland and abroad. Andrew valued that strong family connection and he died helping to improve the lot of the poorest country in the western hemisphere. If only he could have survived to further his work in the developing world.
My heart goes out to his family. Andrew was very conscious of reaching across the sectarian divide North and South in Ireland, but made a positive difference on a wider stage in recent years.
As a board member of a charity in Haiti, I know from my visits there what a vital role UN workers play in alleviating the crushing poverty and ongoing conflict. It is fitting that Andrew was part of that noble tradition.
His death is a great loss to his two countries, and to the UN. – Yours, etc,