Kilkenny veteran honoured for heroics during Siege of Jadotville

ABOVE: Comdt Mick O’Brien, retired, Comdt Larry Scallon, retired, and Comdt Leo Quinlan, retired

Public Opinion
All 158 men from Jadotville eventually made it home. But for reasons that even today cannot be fathomed, they very quickly went from being lauded as heroes to being treated as cowards.

International politics of the time and questionable military decision making of superior commanders in Congo, and maybe their need to hide what Leo described as operational ‘court martial’ offences in any other context, meant a turning tide of public opinion. The Congo was a fiasco that some wanted kept from any publicity.

John Dreelan said he was subject to such a bad reaction from some of his army colleagues, on his return to Ireland, that four months later he was back on another tour of duty in the Congo.
Many of the men never spoke about it, even to their families. Michael Dreelan, John’s son, only found out about Jadotville and his father’s role there, 18 months ago.

The most regretful consequence of all was that the bravery of A Company was not acknowledged by the State until they were given the first ever ‘Unit Citation’ in 2016 and a Jadotville campaign medal was issued in 2017.

However, following the siege Pat Quinlan recommended 33 men for bravery medals - they were denied. Despite appeals and reviews since, and the deaths of many of those men who served in Jadotville, none have been awarded. In fact, an independent review group in 2021 made a recommendation that just Pat Quinlan himself be awarded a Distinguished Service Medal. He had never put himself forward for a medal, and his family have declined to accept the DSM while the men he wanted honoured for their bravery wait to be awarded their medals. Click NEXT to read on...