Irish Congo Vets Get 50th Anniversary Ceremony

Cobhman Frank O'Brien's Congo Documentation

Ceremony for the 36th Irish Infantry Battalion who served in the Congo 50 years ago.

The Irish Government and Permanent Defence Forces held a ceremony in Dublin recently to commemorate Irish soldiers that served in the Congo fifty years ago. This was the first time that the Irish Government deployed Irish soldiers on such a mission. The Congo at the time was a volatile war zone and this was a new departure for the Irish Defence Forces.

From the early 1960’s onwards there were a number of Irish Infantry Battalions deployed on Congo missions,  with most having relatively few incidents to record, however one should remember the ‘Niemba Ambush’ and also the ‘Jadaville’ incidents. Very few know about the ‘Battle for the Tunnel in Elisabethville’ where a number of Irish Soldiers lost their lives, whilst others received severe injuries during the battle which occurred on 15th Dec 1961, fifty years today.

Our Congo veterans who served during the early 1960s rarely discussed what happened during their six month tour of duty, and when they did, the content was very limited. Some went A.W.O.L on their arrival home, while others simply put the experience on the back burner, until the ceremonies this year.

Frank O’Brien