Cllrs welcome full review of the Jadotville battle

Meath county councillors have agreed to write to the Minister for Defence welcoming a full review of the Battle of Jadotville in the Congo in 1961 which involved Irish troops.

Labour Party Cllr Elaine McGinty made the call at the February meeting of the council. The Minister recently set up an independent review board that will examine all aspects of the battle involving A Company, 25th Infantry Battalion of the Irish Defence Forces ONUC contingent.

The councillor’s motion called for the review board to include expert historians, professional military personnel including a senior non-commissioned officer and that the review will examine and report on the psychological effects of the battle on the military personnel involved.

She said she was asking the councillors to support her motion “to recognise the gallantry of the soldiers of A Company who fought bravely and professionally in the siege of Jadotville in 1961.

“As members may be aware, the siege of Jadotville occurred during the United Nations operation in Congo on 3rd September 1961, A Company, 35th Infantry battalion took responsibility for the UN post at Jadotville.

“On that day a large hostile force of locals and international mercenaries surrounded them. A Company endured an almost continuous and sustained attack until they were taken captive on 17th September. They were finally released on 25th October 1961”.

Cllr McGinty said it was a story of profound trauma; one could not begin to imagine the panic and hopelessness that they must have felt at the time.

“Perhaps the most painful part of this history is how the men of A Company were treated when they returned to Ireland.

“This investigation is not about rewriting history”, she said, “but recognising that the peacekeeping role of Irish soldiers since 1955, has now translated into Ireland’s success in taking a seat on the UN Security Council.

“As I speak, we have 492 Defence Forces personnel redeployed to support our nursing homes, dealing with Covid, proving once again how crucial our defence forces are in this time of need.

“We should be immensely proud of our Defence Forces. We should retrospectively be very proud of these men, the survivors, and give them the recognition they deserve.”