Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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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.

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The siege of Jadotville was a prominent event that occurred during Ireland’s peacekeeping mission in the Congo in September 1961. A Company, 35th Infantry Battalion took responsibility for the UN post at Jadotville on 3 September 1961. On 9 September, a large force of Katangese Gendarmerie surrounded them and early on the morning of 13 September A Company came under attack. From 13 to 17 September they endured almost continuous attack. They were taken into captivity on 17 September and remained in captivity until finally released on 25 October 1961.

In accordance with Defence Forces regulations, the award of medals for bravery is time bound. They may not be awarded, in any case, unless a recommendation is made through the usual channels to the Chief of Staff not later than two years in the case of the military medal for gallantry, and not later than four years in the case of the distinguished service medal, after the performance of the act in respect of which the recommendation is made. Such awards are made on the recommendation of a military board appointed by the Chief of Staff for the purpose of examining and reporting on every recommendation for an award.

The issue of the award of medals to the men of A Company, 35th Infantry Battalion was comprehensively addressed in 1965. A properly constituted medals board considered the various cases presented and made a decision that no medals would be awarded. The Chief of Staff of the day considered the decision of the board and was satisfied with the findings. Subsequently, at that time, the question was raised again in a letter to a newly appointed Chief of Staff. He forwarded the letter to the original medals board and asked that they reconvene and review their decision. The board indicated that the issues raised had received due consideration and that they were not prepared to alter their findings.

Over the past number of years various representations have been received in my Department outlining the courage and bravery of A Company. All representations have been considered and responded to acknowledging their valiant actions while under siege in Jadotville.

The issue of honouring the actions of these men has been revisited a number of times over the years and steps have been taken to recognise their bravery. In 2004 the then Minister for Defence initiated a re-examination of the Jadotville case on foot of a request from a retired Army officer. The resulting report was prepared by a board of military officers who fully exonerated the actions of A Company. The board recommended that the events of Jadotville and the contribution of the 35th Battalion be given recognition. In this context, a number of measures have taken place to honour and to commemorate the events at Jadotville and the very significant contribution of A Company, and of the 35th Battalion as a whole, to the UN peace support mission in the Congo.

Recognition of their contribution over the years include a presentation of scrolls to them in 2006 by the then Minister of State for Defence, Deputy Noel Tracey. Subsequently, the Minister for Defence, Deputy O’Dea, directed that portraits of Lieutenant Colonel McNamee, 35th Battalion Commander, and Commandant Quinlan, Company Commander A Company, be commissioned. On 23 February 2007 these portraits were unveiled at the Military College and now hang in the Congo Room in the United Nations Training School in the Curragh.

In July 2010, the 50th anniversary of the first deployment to the Congo was commemorated in a highly publicised and well attended event in Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel. A Congo photographic book was also produced for the occasion, a section of which was dedicated to the events at Jadotville in 1961.

A nominal roll of A Company, printed in copper, has been affixed to the monument in Custume Barracks and was unveiled as part of the 50th anniversary of the Jadotville affair in September 2011. On the occasion of the 55th anniversary of the siege of Jadotville, I decided to issue a unit citation to honour the collective actions and bravery of the men of A Company. This was the first time a unit citation had been awarded to individuals within the Defence Forces and I was delighted to recognise the brave actions of these men formally. Furthermore, the Government committed on 13 June 2017, as an exceptional step, to award a medal known as An Bonn Jadotville, or the Jadotville Medal, to each member of A Company, 35th Infantry Battalion, and to the family representatives of deceased members to give full and due recognition in honour of their courageous actions at the siege of Jadotville. This specially commissioned medal was procured to give full and due recognition in honour of the courageous actions of these men during the siege. The words inscribed on the medals were carefully chosen to pay tribute to their actions. I was delighted to present the medals at a ceremony that took place on 2 December 2017 in Custume Barracks, Athlone. This location is considered the spiritual home of A Company and it is from there that the company assembled in advance of its fateful deployment to the Congo.

I am satisfied that the events and happenings to date properly honour these men.

Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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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.

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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I remind the Deputy that it was a decision of the former Government in 2017 to present medals to the people who went through the siege of Jadotville in the Congo. This had been an issue for a long number of years, and it was only right and proper that the Government of the day recognised their bravery. The commitment given at the time, which was for medals to be presented to those involved, was met.

In recent weeks, I have sent significant correspondence to many people regarding this issue. The Chief of Staff has written to some of those who are campaigning for these medals to be awarded. The medal board made its decision having considered and reflected on the issue not once, but twice. I have asked people for further evidence as to why medals should be presented, but I do not believe any has come forward since the medal board made its original decision.

I am delighted to have made the decision. The Deputy stated that a number of people had still not received An Bonn Jadotville. If he is aware of people who were part of that mission but have not received the medal, I would welcome him passing their names on to me to ensure they get their medals. For various reasons, we could not track down a number of people and award them their medals on the day.