Survivor of Niemba ambush Tom Kenny dies

Tom Kenny from Dublin at the 40th Anniversary Niemba Ceremony in Cathal Brugha Barracks, Dublin, 11/11/2000. Photo: Eamonn Farrell/Photocall Ireland

Tom Kenny, a survivor of the Niemba massacre in the Congo in 1960, has died.

Former trooper Tom Kenny, of Ballyfermot, Dublin, with Joe Fitzpatrick, became well known after he survived the ambush at Niemba in the Congo in November 1960.

Mr Kenny passed away peacefully at Our Lady’s Hospice in the presence of his family on 30 October.

A private funeral has taken place.

The Niemba ambush occurred on 8 November, 1960 and was the first incident in which Irish soldiers serving with the United Nations (UN) lost their lives in combat.

11 men from A Company of the 33rd battalion were ambushed by Luba tribesmen, known as Balubas, at a bridge near Niemba in the Congo.

Eight Irish peacekeepers were killed during the incident while another died in a separate action.

Tom Kenny and Joe Fitzpatrick were the only men who survived the ambush.

Following an investigation into the incident, a detailed report was presented to the Minister for Defence in 2006.

On the basis of this, Mr Kenny and Mr Fitzpatrick received apologies from then Minister for Defence Willie O’Dea.

In 2009, Mr Kenny settled his High Court action over the 2006 report prepared for the Minister for Defence into the greatest loss of life of Irish soldiers on UN peacekeeping duties.

The ambush was the subject of a bestselling book, The Peacemakers of Niemba, by Tom McCaughren.

Tom Kenny will be sadly missed by his loving children and their spouses, grandchildren and their spouses, great-grandchildren, his extended family, friends and his “three boys with four legs”.

Donations, if desired, can be made to Our Lady’s Hospice, Harold’s Cross, Dublin or www.olh.ie.