Heritage talk on Jadotville attracts large turnout in Athlone

by David Flynn

As he gave a lecture last Wednesday on the 1961 Jadotville siege in the Belgian Congo, Leo Quinlan introduced film footage of Athlone faces of the past, bringing local memories to life for the large crowd in attendance at the Shamrock Lodge Hotel.

There were names of the living and dead such as Martin McCabe, Jack Prendergast, Butch McManus, John Monaghan, John Gorman, Jim Feery, and, of course, Commandant Pat Quinlan, who led the men through the unexpected siege.

The lecture by Commandant Quinlan's son, Leo, was part of a night which also included the launch of a new book on the siege – Jadotville: Benchmark For Bravery - by Dan Harvey. Dan, who is a military historian and retired Lieutenant Colonel, was in attendance on the night and signed copies of the book.

Commandant Pat Quinlan led ‘A’ Company of the 35th Infantry Battalion, which had been based in Athlone's Custume Barracks and had arrived into a very tense and uncertain time in the town of Elizabethville in the African Congo.

Pat Quinlan and the company were sent about 70 miles away, to Jadotville. A five-day battle ensued in Jadotville between the Belgian Katangans and the Irish, who were supposed to be there only as peacekeepers.

The Irish were in the open and Quinlan had been told that he would have to surrender. More than 300 Katangans and Belgians were killed, and five Irish were wounded.

The Irish soldiers were taken as prisoners, and held in an old hotel in Jadotville, and then a prison camp in the nearby town of Kolwezi, where they remained for six weeks. Finally they were released, due to a prisoner exchange agreement.

When the group returned home to Ireland they suffered further indignity when they were branded as cowards by some. The soldiers were formally vindicated of any wrongdoing by the Department of Defence 56 years later.

At last week's lecture for National Heritage Week, chairman of the Connaught Street Community Group Tim Dowling said Jadotville was particularly relevant to this year's theme of 'Heritage at Risk'.

"When we talk about heritage at risk, it's very easy to think about buildings, monuments or historic places," he said.

"But heritage is also our collective memory. It is the stories we inherit, the people who experience them and ultimately what we choose to remember and pass on."

He said Jadotville was an important example of how easily that kind of heritage could be lost.

"Many of the men of ‘A’ Company returned to this town afterwards and simply got on with their lives. They were our neighbours and members of our families," said Mr Dowling. "Jadotville was very much a part of Athlone's history."

Leo Quinlan told the gathering that he had now delivered his Jadotville lecture an incredible 109 times!

He explained that he left Athlone as a young cadet and later returned as a captain, spending 13 years in Custume Barracks. He said lecturing in Athlone was particularly special because of his family connections with the town. His brother Cmdt Pat Quinlan, obviously called after their father, was in the audience.

"In Pearse Street there was a Commandant Pearse Wheatley, my wife's uncle," he recalled. "He was in the battalion headquarters as battalion quartermaster when the fighting was going on in Jadotville, 80 miles away."

There were other personal connections in the room, including the sons of the man who had been the best man at his father's wedding.

"All these connections are just popping up here tonight," Leo said. "Also, when I lived in Coosan, there was this little whipper-snapper next door, causing me all sorts of trouble all the time. He is now Minister ‘Boxer’ Moran!"

Minister Moran was in the front row of the large audience, and the comment drew plenty of laughter from the audience.

"When we were fighting for medals (for Jadotville soldiers) in 2016, the one who pushed very very hard to help get the citation for Jadotville, and the medals themselves, was Boxer," said Leo Quinlan.

Leo Quinlan began telling the story of the Jadotville and introducing names of the local men involved in the five-day siege. Among them was Company Sergeant Jack Prendergast.

"Sergeant Major Jack Prendergast was an amazing, amazing guy," he said.

He explained that Prendergast had been one of the senior men alongside his father and when Leo himself later served in Custume Barracks, both Prendergast and Paddy Neville also of ‘A’ company, helped train him.

"They made sure I didn't make any mistakes and they were very, very kind to me all the time," he said.

Another familiar Athlone name was Martin McCabe, who lived in Assumption Road.

"Martin McCabe was a Boy Scout leader when I was 15 years of age in the Boy Scouts. The next time he met me, I was a captain in Custume Barracks," said Mr Quinlan.

He talked of Lieutenant Joe Leech, later Commandant, and said that he was Cmdt Leech’s second-in-command in Custume Barracks. He also said that Sergeant PJ Joyce was platoon sergeant and revealed that in the Netflix movie, The Siege of Jadotville, Leo's youngest son played PJ Joyce.

He also mentioned several other local veterans, including Jim Feery and Butch McManus.

"Young Jim Feery won the Distinguished Service Medal, not for Jadotville but in Elizabethville a few months later, and Butch McManus, too, was a great guy. I was at his funeral a few years ago," said Mr Quinlan.

He said the reality of what happened at Jadotville was considerably worse than the version portrayed in the film on Netflix.

Leo Quinlan also delivered some sobering figures, such as the fact of the average age of the Irish Jadotville solder being 18 and a half years. Commandant Pat Quinlan was 42 years old at the time. Another revealing figure given was that twelve of the soldiers were aged just 16 years.

‘Boxer’ expresses pride at Jadotville troops’ recognition

Minister of State Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran spoke last week of the pride he felt when the Jadotville soldiers finally received the recognition they deserved.

Minister Moran said the Jadotville lecture and book launch in the Shamrock Lodge Hotel had been particularly significant because of the work carried out over many years to ensure the story of the siege, and the experiences of the soldiers, were properly acknowledged.

He recalled how Leo Quinlan approached him in the early stages of his political career and asked him to help pursue official recognition for the men of Jadotville.

The OPW Minister said he was particularly pleased his subsequent efforts had eventually led to official recognition for the soldiers.

Reflecting on the story of Jadotville, Boxer said the men of ‘A’ Company were "more than heroes".

He said the words attributed to Commandant Pat Quinlan during the crisis - "I'll bring them home" - remained particularly powerful.

"That's the message I take from what I’ve seen here tonight," said Boxer.

"The traders of Connaught Street deserve big support and recognition for putting together all of these heritage events, which have been very well-supported, and I also want to thank the county council and all those who sponsored events."