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

The medals recommended for individual soldiers were for actions of extraordinary courage. Five were recommended for the Military Medal for Gallantry, which is equivalent to the Victoria Cross in the UK and the Congressional Medal of Honour in the USA. The Jadotville Medal issued by the Department of Defence in December 2017 to the veterans and next of kin of deceased veterans was simply an acknowledgement that those men were in Jadotville. While it was a significant medal to receive, it was in no way comparable to the Military Medal for Gallantry or the Distinguished Service Medal, as recommended by then commandant, Pat Quinlan.

Medals were given to three Jadotville men for action in Elisabethville two months later. In addition, other medals were awarded to soldiers from other companies of the same battalion in the Congo for other actions in Elisabethville and elsewhere. However, no medals were awarded for the Jadotville action, which remains the largest battle that the Irish Army has ever been involved in with a foreign enemy since the formation of the State.

On his final full day as Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny announced that medals would be awarded in respect of Jadotville. The medals referred to by him were those that Commandant Leo Quinlan had clearly identified to him a few months earlier in Leinster House. The current Taoiseach and Minister for Defence must now instruct the Army to award these medals as soon as possible, given the soldiers' ages. A number of them are still alive - Corporal Tadhg Quinn, Lieutenant Noel Carey, Corporal John Foley, Private Joe O'Kane, Private Tom Gunne, Private Charles Cooley, Private Michael Tighe and Private Noel Stanley. As the battle took place in the early 1960s, these are now old men. A commitment was given by the then Taoiseach that they would get the medals they justly deserved. It is disgraceful that that commitment has not been honoured.

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