[1] Place went to Somalia in September 1992 as a volunteer worker on a two-year contract with Concern, the Irish overseas aid agency.
The aid workers worked with local guards, and later the Unified Task Force of 30,000 troops to secure the areas for the distribution of humanitarian relief.
[1][2][3] Place's funeral at the Church of the Holy Spirit, Greenhills, Dublin was attended by 2,000 people, including Irish President Mary Robinson.
[5] Place's death caused demands that the task force do more to protect aid workers and to disarm the Somali factions, as well as prompting fresh criticism of the UN mandate in its failure to support military intervention with political initiatives.
[1] The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs founded the Valerie Place commemorative scholarship in March 1993, which brings Somali teachers and nurses to train in Ireland.