This coming September, all going well, the Tralee marathon will take place. Those who take part will receive the Pat Quinlan Memorial Medal. But how many know who he was?
Patrick Joseph Quinlan was born in 1919 in the parish of Caherdaniel. He was the youngest of four children.
After graduating from St. Brendan’s, he worked as a labourer for the county council on the roads in South Kerry for a year while preparing for the entrance examinations for both the army and the gardai.
He was successful in both exams and chose the army as his career, where he served for 41 years.
In June 1961, Commandant Pat Quinlan arrived in the Congo. This was the start of a dramatic 6-month tour of duty for Pat Quinlan’s company of which the Battle of Jadotville became the main event.
With me to speak some more is Leo Quinlan, son of Pat Quinlan.
Colonel Patrick Joseph Quinlan (Written by Leo Quinlan)
Pat Quinlan was born in 1919 in Reeneragh in the parish of Caherdaniel. He was the youngest of four children to Michael and Mary Quinlan (nee O’Shea). He was a 4th generation Quinlan in Reeneragh where his Great Grandfather (a stonemason) had settled after arriving in the parish in approximately 1810 to construct the old “lighthouse” on Hogs Head.
As a boy Pat Quinlan attended Loher National School (now in ruins). Like other children of that era he walked barefoot to school each day along the Rineen road and up across the fields to Loher School on the main Waterville – Caherdaniel road. He also carried the obligatory sod of turf in his schoolbag for the school fire. Of course his studies at school were performed in parallel with necessary work on his father’s farm.
He later attended St Brendan’s College, Killarney on a scholarship. He always retained his links with St Brendan’s and many years later, while stationed in Dublin, he was involved with St Brendan’s and other schools in Kerry where he assisted (when necessary) young people from the County on their arrival in the Capital for work or study.
After graduating from St. Brendan’s he worked as a labourer for the County Council on the roads in South Kerry for a year while preparing for the entrance examinations for both the Army and the Gardai. He was successful in both exams and chose the Army as his career where he served for 41 years.
Prior to joining the Army he played football for South Kerry and one of his team mates named Eddie Condon of Valentia became his lifelong friend, best man at his wedding, godfather to his daughter and an Army colleague. Eddie Condon retired from the Army as a Colonel and interestingly also served in the Congo at the same time as Pat Quinlan.
After being commissioned an Officer from the Cadet School in the Curragh in 1941 Pat was posted to the Irish speaking Cead Cathlan Coisithe (1st Infantry Battalion) in Galway where he served through the “Emergency” years and until 1959. During this time he took part in many sports and athletics and in fact was All Army Athletics Champion at one time. He was highly skilled at the high jump, long jump, hop-step & jump, 100 yards sprint and in particular he was Army Champion on the parallel bars. In addition he was an International Boxing Referee and represented Ireland in the UK and Germany during the 1950’s.
In 1944 he married Carmel Cunningham of Galway City and they had 1 daughter and 4 sons. Two sons (Leo and Padraigh) followed Pat into the Army and currently two grandsons are serving in the Army. The connection with Caherdaniel Parish always remained strong and Summer holidays were always on Hog’s Head. Two sons of Pat now have homes in Caherdaniel Parish.
In November 1959, on promotion to Commandant, Pat Quinlan was transferred to Custume Barracks, Athlone. A few months later the Irish Army became involved in the United Nations operation in the Congo and from this time on Pat Quinlan’s career became a matter of world news and history.
In July 1960 Moise Tshombe declared the Province of Katanga to be independent from the rest of the Congo and this led to instability in the entire country. The Congo government immediately requested UN assistance to keep the peace in the country and the Irish Government agreed to the provision of troops for this mission.
The UN Mission in the Congo was the first time Irish troops were involved in any UN operation and it was the first time that the modern Irish Army was involved in combat. In November 1960 an Irish patrol was ambushed by Baluba tribesmen. Nine Irish were killed, two soldiers survived and 25 Balubas perished. This incident set the scene for later Irish/UN activities in the Congo.
In June 1961 Pat Quinlan arrived in the Congo with his Company (“A” Company) which was part of the 35th Irish Battalion which was sent on a 6 month mission to keep the peace in Katanga.
This was the start of a dramatic 6 month tour of duty for Pat Quinlan’s company of which the Battle of Jadotville became the main event and which has become the subject of a number of books and articles. In addition this battle won an RTE Radio Documentary award in 2004 and in 2011 won the Irish Film & Theatre Awards for best documentary (Congo – An Irish Affair). This TV documentary has been shown twice in the recent years on TG4. Currently a full length feature film is in the making showing the story of Commandant Pat Quinlan and the Battle of Jadotville.
The UN mandate in the Congo was for a peace keeping role, like in Cyprus and Lebanon in later years, but this mandate very quickly became one of peace enforcement. This caused many strange decisions to be made by the UN on the ground in the Congo resulting in the needless loss of life on all sides and political turmoil. However this article will not dwell on this element of the Congo operation but will elaborate on the military activities of “A” Company during its 6 months of duty in the Congo.
25th June: “A” Company arrives in the Congo and began carrying out peace keeping activities in the city of Elizabethville which was the capital of Katanga. Ironically enough one of its major tasks was to protect the Baluba tribe who were being slaughtered by the Katangese Army and who were now flocking to the UN flag for safe keeping. “A” Company helped set up refugee camps and searched the surrounding countryside for survivors and dead bodies and this activity continued during the month of July 1961.
27th August: “A” Company captured a patrol of Gendarmerie (Katangese Army) who had infiltrated into a UN held area. This was the first military action by “A” Company.
28th August: Pat Quinlan led the raid on President Tshombe’s Headquarters during the night and captured Tshombe’s bodyguard and mercenary officers without any loss of life.
3rd/4th September: “A” Coy moved to Jadotville to provide protection to the white population who were supposedly under threat from the black community. One interesting aspect to this move to Jadotville is the fact that “A” Company was replacing a Swedish company who refused to stay in Jadotville due to the resentment they encountered from the white population. This begs the question, why was “A” Company ever sent to Jadotville at all?
Jadotville was a wealthy mining town and the white population resented the UN.
The Gendarmerie in Jadotville wree supported by Paratroopers and White Mercenaries and were at all times better armed than the Irish, with heavier weapons, heavier artillery and a jet fighter bomber, not to mention the 3000+ force they had compared to the 150 Irishmen. Many of the mercenaries were veterans of the 2nd World War and Korea with a lot of combat experience. The Irish troops in contrast had never been in action and a large percentage of them were young boys/men in the 18 – 22 years age bracket.
5th September: Pat Quinlan became very aware of the resentment from the local population and it became very apparent that the white population was in no danger and were in fact openly hostile to the UN.
Pat Quinlan made this very clear to Battalion HQ and the UN HQ (Conor Cruise O’Brien) in Elizabethville. However his orders were to remain in Jadotville.
During the days leading up to the battle “A” Coy strengthened its defensive positions while at the same time Pat Quinlan had meetings with the Mayor and local white leaders in order to keep the situation calm.
“A” Company was very isolated in Jadotville, totally cut off from the rest of the UN force in Elizabetville and the only route back to headquarters was over the Lufira river bridge 18 miles south of Jadotville and which was manned by the Gendarmerie. Pat Quinlan had plans to take this bridge in the days preceding the battle but permission to do this was refused by Battalion HQ. This was a major mistake that impacted negatively on the UN later and caused a number of lives to be lost.
8th September: Pat Quinlan ordered his company to “dig in”. This was a good move as the next morning gendarmerie forces started moving closer to “A” Company positions in an effort to surround the Irish position.
9th – 12th September: Unknown to “A” Coy the UN in Elizabethville (with the Irish Battalion playing a major role) had planned an attack on the Gendarmerie in Elizabethville for 04.00 am on Wednesday 13th September but neglected to inform “A” Coy about this impending attack. It is extraordinary to say the least that Pat Quinlan was not informed of this impending action.
On 12th September Pat Quinlan, being a savvy South Kerryman, sensed something was afoot in Elizabethville and he repeatedly requested an update on the political and military situation there. His radio messages were ignored despite hourly requests even right through the night of Tuesday 12th September.
Consequently “A” Coy was totally unaware of the UN action in Elizabethville at 0400 hrs on the 13th September – just 3.5 hours before they themselves were attacked in Jadotville.
Gendarmerie troops were seen moving into position and by the evening of the 12th September “A” Coy was effectively surrounded.
13th September: UN forces in Elizabethville attacked the Gendarmerie at 0400hrs. “A” Coy was not informed about this action in Elizabethville until 0725hrs and had less than five minutes to prepare for an attack by the Gendarmerie in retaliation for the UN action in Elizabethville and the Battle of Jadotville commenced.
Day 1 of the Battle – Wednesday 13th Sept
0730 hrs: First attack by the Gendarmerie attack came in the form of three enemy jeeps mounted with Machine Guns trying to drive through the Irish positions to where the troops were at mass and to catch them unawares. At the same time enemy troops were advancing through the bush to attack the Irish from a different direction.
An Irish sentry on duty opened fire on the 3 enemy jeeps and succeeded in stopping the attack. At the same time Irish troops opened fire on the enemy infantry moving through the bush.
The men who were at mass quickly took up defensive positions and the 5 day Battle of Jadotville began. All possible containers were filled with water at this stage in case the water supply was switched off – which happened later in the day.
“A” Coy stopped all attacks this 1st day and destroyed enemy artillery positions killing enemy crew. Infantry attacks through the bush were successfully stopped.
All this fist day the enemy continued attacking using heavy artillery and machine guns to back up their infantry attacks though the bush. The Irish troops, with less men and lighter weapons, were able to repulse attack after attack.
The enemy phoned Pat Quinlan requesting permission to collect their dead and wounded. This was granted and as soon as the enemy had carried out this task they started attacking again.
“A” Coy requested reinforcements to be sent from Elizabethville and were told that reinforcements were on the way.
During the night Pat Quinlan received phone calls from the enemy demanding the surrender of the Irish Company or else a “mob” would completely wipe out the Irish. This demand was refused.
Day 2 of the Battle – Thursday 14th Sept
0530 hrs: Enemy attacked with from all sides supported by Heavy Mortars & Machine Guns. Long range enemy mortars shelled the Irish troops all day.
Enemy came close to the Irish positions under cover of the dense bush and were repulsed each time.
The Irish could hear the sound of battle from the Lufira Bridge which meant the reinforcements had arrived there. This gave hope to the men in Jadotville they would soon reinforced. Unfortunately the relief column were unable to break through and returned to Elizabethville leaving the Irish company in Jadotville to the mercy of the large enemy attacking force and this situation continued until the end of the battle on Day 5.
During this day the enemy Jet fighter bomber arrives for the first time and circled 4 times doing a reconnaissance. It later returned on seven strafing runs and dropped four bombs. Four Irishmen were wounded this day.
Also discovered this day that an Irishman living in Rhodesia was listening to “A” Company radios messages (in Gaelic) to/from Battalion HQ and was passing on this information to the Gendarmerie.
Continued attacks on “A” Company attacks during this day and close range grenade attacks during the night also where the enemy penetrated to within 20 yards of the perimeter. The Irish were now running short of ammunition so firing now only when urgently required.
Water saved the day before had already become putrid – greatest worry now was the water shortage and dehydration in the intense heat.
Day 3 of the Battle – Friday 15th Sept (Black Friday in Ireland)
0745 hrs: Jet fighter bomber returned strafing and dropping bombs. Continued enemy attacks all day and night repulsed by the Irish Many enemy killed.
In Ireland the Evening Herald announced that the Company had been wiped out and that its officers had been executed by firing squad. Published and apology one year later. Not good for Irish families on this day.
Water almost undrinkable. Sewerage and other services damaged. Intense heat, insects, battle fatigue taking its toll.
Day 4 of the Battle – Saturday 16th Sept
Heavy enemy attacks all day repulsed by the Irish.
At home in Ireland officers wives gathered at the home of Pat Quinlan where, with his wife Carmel and based on the Evening Herald story, they started planning funeral services for husbands whose bodies they thought they would never see again
Enemy morale was breaking down at this stage due to high losses (approx 300 killed and many more wounded) and in fact the white officers had some difficulty to get them to continue the attack on some fronts.
1600 hrs: At the request of the enemy a Cease Fire was agreed and a meeting took place between the Pat Quinlan and the officer commanding the Gendarmerie.
Since the relief column had returned to Elizabethville the Irish troops in Jadotville were now seen to be totally isolated from any UN support and basically left to fend for themselves. The enemy now had the political advantage as well as superior military strength.
Day 5 of the Battle – Sunday 17th Sept
On Sunday morning it became apparent that the enemy had recovered it momentum and resolve as additional were now seen moving into battle positions around “A” Company and were ready to attack again. This build up of enemy troops meant that severe loss of life on both sides could be expected this day.
As the Irish troops had little ammunition remaining and were practically out of water and food and no UN support forthcoming Pat Quinlan decided to negotiate a written agreement on a cease fire with Minister Munongo, Katanga’s Minister of the Interior, that would safeguard the dignity and lives of the Irish troops.
However with no UN Troops at Lufira Bridge Pat Quinlan had no leverage and the cease fire agreement was soon broken and the Irish Troops became POW’s.
Aftermath of the Battle:
The Irish troops were prisoners of war for approximately 6 weeks. Initially they were well treated with respect. In fact when Pat Quinlan was seen in the town of Jadotville after the battle he was applauded by the enemy as they called “Vive Le Majeur Irlande” ( Vive the Irish Major).
The enemy could not believe that no Irish had been killed and only 4 wounded despite the intense attacks and artillery barrages for 5 days. The Gendarmerie had lost over 300 dead and many hundreds wounded. Many of the dead were white mercenaries and some of the white population of Jadotville.
There was an exchange of prisoners on the 25th October between the UN and the Katangese Government.
“A” Company returned to active duty in Elizabethville and were once again put into action.
In early December Pat Quinlan led a raid on the Katangese Army main petrol and oil supply dump and destroyed 16 million gallons of fuel.
When Pat arrived at Athlone railway station on 23rd December it seemed like half the town was there to welcome him and his men home safely. Such a different situation from the 15th of September when everyone thought all the Company had been massacred.
Pat continued serving in the Army in Dublin and the Curragh and retired as a Colonel.
Up until his death in 1997 many of his comrades from the Battle of Jadotville were constant visitors to the Quinlan household and in fact a number of them cut turf with him every year and assisted him in many ways. Friends made in battle are the strongest friends a man can have.
His funeral in Galway was attended by many of his soldiers and as some of them told the Quinlan family, “if it was not for his leadership in the Congo none of us would be here today to pay our respects to him”
Note: During the battle Pat Quinlan’s wife in Athlone was receiving regular updates of the situation from Army HQ. Pat’s 16 year old son Leo would then cycle to all the homes of the Athlone based soldiers and pass the latest information to their wives and families. The best news he was able to give them on Day 5 of the battle was that they were all alive despite being prisoners. During the 6 weeks of captivity Leo was also able to send taped messages from families to the captive soldiers (via Diplomatic means) and also bring the taped responses from their husbands and sons in prison camp in the Congo.
