Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise the issue regarding the award of distinguished service medals and military medals for gallantry to veteran members of A Company 35th Infantry Battalion who served in the Congo from June to December 1961. This was part of the UN peacekeeping operation in the province of Katanga which had broken away from the rest of the Congo and had declared independence.

A Company, consisting of 155 men, were sent to the UN post at Jadotville, 80 miles from Elizabethville, on 3 September 1961. On 9 September, a large force of Kantangese gendarmes surrounded them and early on the morning of 13 September A Company came under attack and endured almost continuous attack until 17 September. During this battle 3,500 enemy soldiers were in action against the 155 Irish troops. The Irish troops, who had never been in battle before, were pitted against a well-trained enemy that had greater firepower, heavier artillery weapons and led by mercenary officers who had fought in the Second World War and the Korean War. The average age of the Irish troops was 18.5 years. Two of the men were 15 years old and approximately 12 of them were 16 years old. At the end of the battle the Irish Company suffered five wounded while the enemy had 300 dead and 750 wounded. A Company ran out of food, water and ammunition and they were taken into captivity on 17 September and remained so until their release on 25 October 1961.

Arising from this battle, Commandant Pat Quinlan recommended 29 of his men for distinguished service medals and military medals for gallantry. Last week a parliamentary question was tabled by 14 Deputies including myself calling on the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence to explain the reason why these medals committed to previously, have not been presented. I hope we can bring this matter to its logical and fair conclusion. Veterans and their families have been fighting for closure for nearly 60 years. Deceased veterans who were recommended for awards should receive their medals posthumously.

The medal insignia that is linked with the unit citation does not bring closure to the issue, nor does the issuing of the Jadotville Medal by the Department of Defence in December 2017 to all veterans and next of kin of deceased veterans. The Jadotville Medal cannot be compared to the military medal for gallantry or the distinguished service medal, as recommended by Commandant Pat Quinlan.

The Jadotville action is recognised worldwide and one of the best perimeter defensive battles in history and is the single biggest military engagement the Irish Army has been involved in alone against a foreign enemy since the formation of the State.

Presentations on this battle have been given by Commandant Leo Quinlan, son of Commandant Pat Quinlan, and campaigner for the award of these medaIs. A unit citation was awarded to A Company in September 2016. This made history as it is the first and only unit citation to be awarded in the Irish Army. As in other armies a unit citation is something that is recorded in military history and each member of the unit then receives a medal insignia that he or she can wear on his uniform.

However, the medals that Commandant Pat Quinlan recommended for his men for bravery in action have yet to be awarded. In 2017 the then Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny, met Commandant Leo Quinlan and some of the Jadotville veterans in Leinster House. He was briefed on exactly what medals were being requested and on his last day as Taoiseach he announced in Dáil Éireann that medals will be awarded for Jadotville.

An official Army list of all the Jadotville soldiers who were recommended for medals was recently provided to Commandant Leo Quinlan. Five men were recommended for the military medal for gallantry as well as the distinguished service medal, that is two awards each. Another 27 men were also recommended for the distinguished service medal. This means a total of 32 men were recommended for awards arising from their bravery, courage and service in Jadotville.

None of the men recommended for the Jadotville action received their awards. Currently seven of these men are still alive and living in Ireland. A number of them were totally unaware that they had been recommended for awards until recently. In fact many men passed away without knowing that they had been recommended for awards for bravery in action.

The Army has recently stated that as the Statute of Limitations has passed in relation to the award of medals. Therefore it is down to the Taoiseach and Minister of State to take action on this matter.

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