New housing estate named after Jadotville hero is opened

A new development of ten local authority homes named in honour of the late Commandant (later Colonel) Pat Quinlan, who led the Irish troops during the Siege of Jadotville has been officially opened.

The housing development, Quinlan Park, is located to the rear of McCormack Park in the Cornamagh area of the town. It was built by Leitrim-based Sammon Developments.

Work got underway on the €2.34m project in September 2021 and it consists of six three-bedroom two-storey houses, three two-bedroom two-storey houses and one two-bedroom single-storey house, built to A-rate specification.

Leo Quinlan, son of the late Pat Quinlan, has previously spoken of how honoured the family was by what he called a “lovely gesture” to remember his father in this way.

The official opening of Quinlan Park was carried out on Tuesday by Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage Peter Burke. It was part of 96 new homes he officially launched across the county, all developed by Westmeath County Council under Housing for All.

The other projects include Ennell Court and The Cedars, both in Mullingar and An Garran Gael in Kinnegad and Quinlan Park in Athlone.

Minister Burke said that this represents a significant inroad into the housing list in Westmeath, with a strong pipeline in place for the coming years.

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