UN Security Council seat a welcome boost

Sir — On July 27, 1960, the 32 Infantry Battalion of the Defence Forces departed for the Congo. It was joined in the following month of August by the 33 Infantry Battalion, bringing the total number of Irish soldiers to well over 1,000 on this, our first troop mission under the United Nations flag. Within months, the whole nation would become acutely aware of the dangers involved in UN service when nine soldiers died in the Niemba ambush on November 8, 1960.

The soldiers of these battalions were our pathfinders, striding into the unknown, accordingly and unfortunately poorly equipped and kitted out for the impending mission. But these material deficiencies were outweighed by a sense of duty and justice, integrity, dedication and graft, characteristics and traits thereafter set in the DNA for the generations who would serve this country well on peacekeeping missions.

So on the 60th anniversary of this significant step in our coming of age among the nations of the world, it is an obeisance to all who have since grafted at the coalface of peacekeeping in some of the most deprived and exploited parts of the world and a welcome boost for national ‘self-esteem’ at this extremely challenging time for our citizens that Ireland recently attained a seat on the UN Security Council, a position at a top table in global affairs which we will assume on January 1, 2021.

Michael Gannon (Colonel retired) St Thomas’ Square, Kilkenny