‘Assumption Road is a very special type of community’

Leo Quinlan was sixteen years of age when Irish troops, led by his father, Commandant Pat Quinlan, became embroiled in the Siege of Jadotville in the Congo in September 1961.

Thirteen of the men at Jadotville had an address in Assumption Road, Athlone, which, Leo said, is "the highest number of soldiers from one street to have served anywhere with the United Nations."

Tomorrow (Saturday, September 3) Leo, himself a retired Commandant, will give a talk on Jadotville at 11am in Saint Kieran's Community Centre.

He will also be present to speak at the unveiling of the Siege of Jadotville Memorial at 1pm this Sunday at the Park in Assumption Road.

Leo told the Westmeath Independent he was "deeply honoured" to have been asked to speak at this weekend's events, saying he would be doing so on behalf of his father, who had the height of respect for the men from Assumption Road with whom he served.

His memories from 1961 include a "very bad day" - Friday, September 15 - when a report came through of mass casualties among the Irish troops.

"The Evening Herald had it that evening that the Company had been massacred. They had words to the effect that 20 officers had been executed by firing squad. There was also a blackout in Athlone that day, so it became known as Black Friday.

"Friday night was terrible, and on Saturday morning the word was that they were all dead. Various officers' wives gathered around my mother at our house in Beechpark, and the discussion was about how we were going to have funeral services if we didn't have bodies, and we didn't expect to get any bodies home.

"So Saturday was not a nice day, not to mention Friday night. Then on Sunday morning the message came that they were all alive.

"I got on my bicycle and cycled down to Assumption Road. As I arrived there, the staff car arrived from the barracks.

"The Commandant was there and as he got out of the car, to tell the people, they all gathered around. There were tears running down his face, I remember.

"The people thought the worst, but he said, 'Give me a moment, give me a moment'. Then he said, 'They're all alive. Don't worry, they're all alive.' People were jumping for joy and crying with joy. It was great."

Leo also explained that while the Irish soldiers were being held in captivity, over the following six weeks, he regularly went to Assumption Road to pass on updates from his mother about the situation in the Congo.

He would also make tape-recorded messages for the soldiers from their relatives in Athlone. "We would send them out to my father, with the Red Cross, with a note saying (recording) number 1 is Mrs McCabe, number 2 is Mrs Monaghan, number 3 is Mrs Relihan, etc," Leo recalled.

"My father would then play these tapes to the men in that order, and then he'd get recordings from them, that would be played over the tape, and send it back to me."

He still has those tapes and in more recent times was able to convert them to CD and share them with relatives of the Jadotville troops.

Leo said he was very much looking forward to this weekend's events, which are part of celebrations marking the 72nd anniversary of Assumption Road.

"Two widows of men from Assumption Road, I understand, will be present, so it will be an honour for me to meet these people," he said.

"Assumption Road is a very special type of community. They provided a lot in Jadotville and they provided a lot to the Army over the years, not just in Jadotville."

The Assumption Road 72nd Anniversary Celebrations this weekend will feature a wide and varied programme of events.

On Saturday, there will be military talks, stalls and displays, at St Kieran's Community Centre, beside Tormey Villas, between 11am and 4pm, beginning with the talk by Leo Quinlan.

On Sunday morning, between 10am and 11.30pm, a children's sports day is due to take place on the pitch at St Kieran’s Community Centre.

The Siege of Jadotville memorial will be unveiled at a special ceremony on Sunday at 1pm, at the park, Assumption Road.

Also on Sunday, from 2pm and throughout the afternoon, there will be a variety of music and entertainment on Assumption Road. There will be a magic show, face painting and musical entertainment. The organising committee has also arranged a street closure for the day, with local access only.