Cork fundraiser will honour Siege of Jadotville soldiers

'Jadotville Remembered' aims to commemorate the bravery and sacrifice of Irish soldiers who served in the Congo in the 1960s

Irish UN soldiers from the Jadotville siege. 

A commemorative fundraiser will take place this week at Cork City Hall to highlight the plight of Irish soldiers who served in the Siege of Jadotville in the Congo in 1961.

Jadotville Remembered will be hosted by the Organisation of National Ex-Service Personnel (ONE), and will take place from 6pm on Friday.

The event aims to commemorate the bravery and sacrifice of the Irish soldiers who served in the Congo in the 1960s, while also raising vital funds for Irish veterans facing homelessness.

The battle of Jadotville remains the largest military action carried out by the Irish army against foreign troops since the formation of the State. 

The peace-keeping mission, which saw the Irish 35th ‘A Company’ battalion deployed to the Katanga Province, included 155 Irish soldiers.

Despite the initial rules of engagement restricting them from firing their weapons, the Irish veterans fought off up to 3,500 enemy soldiers and survived.

The ‘A Company’ battalion was led by Commandant Pat Quinlan, who was from Caherdaniel in Co Kerry.

While several attacks were launched against the Irish soldiers when stationed in Jadotville, seeing thousands of Katangese soldiers deployed to their compound, as well as one aerial bombing, there were no casualties reported among the Irish troops.

The story of the battle will be told in person at the upcoming commemorative event by Mr Quinlan’s son, Leo Quinlan.

Ahead of the fundraising event, ONE received a €2,000 sponsorship donation from Benny and Clíona McCabe of Heritage Pubs Cork.

All funds raised will go directly towards furnishing a new veterans’ home at St Luke’s, Cork.

Tracy Connolly, who is the national director of ONE and chairwoman of marketing, said the funds will “make a real difference to veterans who have served our country”.

Tickets for the event, priced from €15, are available for purchase online via Eventbrite.ie.

A limited number of tickets will be available at the door on the day.