My aunt, Eileen Evason, who has died aged 75, was a respected teacher, researcher and campaigner for social justice who became emeritus professor in social administration at Ulster University.
Eileen spent her working life in Northern Ireland, where she identified with the people and the issues. She started teaching at the then-new University of Ulster in 1971, guiding generations of students into careers in health and social care, social work, policy development and academia.
Her work ranged across the university’s three campuses, located in Derry, Coleraine and Jordanstown (a fourth campus, in Belfast, was added in 2022), from the 1970s until she retired in 2002. Eileen became a leader in her field, publishing extensively, and is well cited on health and social care, poverty, social security, pensions policy, gender and older people.
Outside academia, she was a benefits expert on BBC Radio Ulster for more than 20 years, taking questions from listeners. Every inquiry received a personal reply from Eileen, whether it was discussed on air or not.
Eileen was active in the voluntary sector, serving on many public bodies: she chaired the NI Housing Benefit Review Board, the NI Social Security Standards Committee, and, in an acting role, the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust Board. She was also a commissioner in the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, a trustee of Age NI, and a council member of the Pensions Policy Institute, London.
Born in Birmingham, to Patricia (nee Nyhan), a nurse, and Francis Moran, a bus driver, Eileen won a scholarship to Olton convent school, Solihull. She went on to Hull University, graduating with a degree in social studies in 1968, followed by a master’s in social science from Queen’s University Belfast.
When she was appointed CBE in 2013 for services to disadvantaged people in Northern Ireland, she said it was a recognition of all the people working in her field. Eileen engaged with and was respected by politicians across the spectrum, as she always championed the most vulnerable people in society, regardless of their politics. Partly due to this mindset, at the request of the assembly executive she was lead author of an expert report in 2015 on social welfare reform.
Away from work, Eileen enjoyed swimming, travel and reading the Guardian. Her happiest times were spent in the study and garden of her home in east Belfast, with her roses and her pets. She became ill with cancer in 2008 and again from 2020 until her death.
She is survived by her partner, Drusilla Hawthorne – whom she met while campaigning in the 80s – her brothers, Denzil and Tony, and her nephews, Alex and me.
