Nuala Ryan - a life dedicated to people in need

Nuala first joined the ICRC as a health delegate and spent more than 15 years in the field. She dedicated her whole life for the ICRC and its beneficiaries. By making a gift in her Will for the ICRC, she helped people through and beyond conflict to a life filled with hope.

Nuala Ryan arrived early in this world on 23 December 1956 in Dublin.

At 19, Nuala's natural will to care kicked in: she packed her bags and went to London where she trained as a nurse at Newham Hospital School of Nursing. When fully qualified, she returned to Ireland and worked in many hospitals, where she held roles from staff nurse to ward sister.

In 1995, with her medical skills and need to aid others, she joined the Irish Red Cross and went on her first mission to Lopiding Hospital, Lokichokio in Kenya, which led to later assignements with the ICRC.

Among other countries in which she worked in several roles were: Kosovo, Ethiopia, Uganda, India, Nepal, Macedonia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Haiti, Palestine, Pakistan, Sudan and Yemen.

When Nuala left the ICRC in 2012, she returned home and worked in a Dublin hospital.

Nuala died suddenly, aged 57, in 2014, minutes after she finished her shift in a nursing home, where she cared for residents.

Nuala dedicated her whole life to people in need , and, with her generous donation to the ICRC, is continuing to protect and help vulnerable people with her bequest.

To see more photos of Nuala's life, please click here.