Kilkenny veteran honoured for heroics during Siege of Jadotville

ABOVE: Cathaoirleach Michael Doyle and Mayor Joe Malone make a Presentation to John Dreelan. All pictures: Harry Reid.

A quiet, modest hero has been living in our midst in Kilkenny City, and he has now been honoured by his community at an event in City Hall.

More than 60 years after the Siege of Jadotville, in the Congo, former Irish soldier John Dreelan was recognised for his bravery and loyalty under fire, by the Mayor of Kilkenny and Cathoirleach of Kilkenny County Council.

Mr Dreelan was the 18 year old army medic to A Company, a group of 158 men on UN peace keeping duties in the breakaway state of Katanga, in the Congo, when they came under attack from a force of more than 3,000 native and mercenary French and Belgian troops.

Miraculously, during the course of five days of sustained, heavy attack by land and air, not one member of A Company was killed, and just five injured. This compared to more than 300 killed and wounded on the other side.

The battle was so fierce than when a ceasefire was eventually called, by the Katanganese side because their troops refused to fight on in the face of such heavy losses, the attackers couldn’t believe no Irish had been killed and proceeded to search buildings and dig up trenches, looking for bodies.

Prisoners of War
With the situation in the Congo, and the breakaway state of Katanga, tense, power shifted back to the locals and A Company suddenly found themselves going from an agreed ceasefire and joint patrols with the local force, to designated ‘prisoners of war.’

The actions of A Company are now legendary among military strategists and leaders, with much praise and respect directed toward the commanding officer of A Company in Jadotville, Colonel Pat Quinlan. Books, documentaries and even a hit Netflix movie starring Jamie Dornan have been made to tell the story of Jadotville.

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