Reviews

THE IRISH ARMY’S FORGOTTEN BATTLE Author: Declan Power Publisher: Maverick House Price: £7.99 (Paperback: Amazon)

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Siege at Jadotville tells the story of the 156 Irish Army UN peacekeepers of A Company, 35th Battalion, who were deployed to protect the inhabitants of the Congolese mining town of Jadotville in September 1961.

At the height of the Cold War the United Nations militarily intervened in a violently political maelstrom in the Congo that had serious geopolitical implications. It was in this context that the inexperienced troops of A Company arrived in Jadotville, led by Commandant Pat Quinlan. Within days of their deployment the Irish troops became outnumbered by thousands of Katangese militiamen and European mercenaries. Over the course of five days A Company inflicted hundreds of casualties without suffering a single loss. However, they received inadequate support from the UN high command and Quinlan, despite his formidable tactical skills, was forced into a reluctant ceasefire and surrender.

Thanks to a subsequent cover-up by both the UN and the Irish army the heroic actions of the garrison were forgotten for decades. But since the early 2000s Jadotville has been steadily brought into the spotlight and Power’s work has been crucial in raising awareness. The book was adapted in 2016 into the Netflix film The Siege of Jadotville starring Jamie Dornan as Pat Quinlan, and it is arguable that the events of 1961 have never been more famous thanks to the book and subsequent film.

It is not hard to see why. Power, himself a former career soldier in the Irish army, has written an extremely readable account that admirably deconstructs the complexities of the Congo Crisis without losing the pure heroics of the siege itself.

Power rightly emphasises just how serious the situation in the Congo was during the Cold War, even though contemporary events such as the Berlin Wall and Cuban Missile Crisis became far more famous. Equally, the condition of the UN and Irish army at that time is also fascinating and shocking. Both institutions were relatively new and inexperienced, and in the case of the Irish army it had barely developed from its rebel beginnings during the War of Independence and Civil War of the 1920s.

Such is the detail of Power’s research and his prolific use of veteran testimonies that the events of the siege itself can be recalled and explained at great length almost hour by hour. The book is peppered with interesting statistics and anecdotes to build a very strong narrative.

Additionally, there are excellent sections on the aftermath of the siege both militarily and politically. The political fallout is better known, but Power also highlights that members of A Company led by Quinlan won a satisfying victory against Katangan gendarmeries and mercenaries in Elisabethville in December 1961.

Overall, Power demonstrates that the tough experiences in the Congo proved to be the catalyst for the Irish army’s maturity into a small but highly professional peacekeeping force. However, the men who served at Jadotville itself always remain prominent, and perhaps the greatest achievement of the book is to leave the reader in no doubt that the men of A Company were unjustly maligned heroes.

THIS BOOK ABOUT THE 1961 IRISH UN SIEGE IN THE CONGO WAS ADAPTED INTO A RECENT NETFLIX FILM AND IS A STIRRING ACCOUNT OF HEROISM AND COMPLEX COLD WAR POLITICS

“THE BOOK IS PEPPERED WITH INTERESTING STATISTICS AND ANECDOTES TO BUILD A VERY STRONG NARRATIVE”