Jadotville commander's family refuses medal from State
The family of the late Col Pat Quinlan, who led the Irish troops during the Siege of Jadotville more than 60 years ago, has refused to accept a Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) from the State unless medals are also presented on behalf of 33 of his men.
The then-Commandant Quinlan was living in Athlone with his family at the time of the 1961 United Nations peacekeeping mission to the Congo, where he led the 156-strong ‘A’ Company deployment from Ireland.
Following the Siege of Jadotville, in which the vastly outnumbered Irish troops came under sustained attack over several days, Pat Quinlan spoke glowingly of the “indomitable” courage shown by his troops.
In 2021, the report of an Independent Review Group on Jadotville concluded that one Distinguished Service Medal should be awarded to the soldiers, and that it should be presented posthumously to Col Quinlan.
Col Quinlan’s son, Comdt Leo Quinlan (Retd), said that, in November last, he and his family received a citation from the then-Minister for Defence and now Taoiseach, Micheál Martin.
It stated that, as a result of his “outstanding qualities of leadership, physical and moral courage, decisiveness, exceptional professional competence and devotion to duty,” the late Col Quinlan was being awarded “the Distinguished Service Medal, with Honour”.
However, Leo Quinlan said that his family could not accept the medal, for two reasons.
He said the recommendation that his father should be the only Jadotville veteran to receive a medal was contained in the Independent Review Group report on Jadotville which he said was “widely viewed as a severely flawed report”.
“We, as a family, do not accept this report or any recommendations arising therefrom,” he said.
The second reason he cited was: “Our father was a man of honour and integrity who respected and admired his men for what they endured in Jadotville and how their bravery, professionalism and loyalty ensured the survival of all.”
Leo Quinlan said there were “33 men that (Pat Quinlan) and his officers in the Siege of Jadotville recommended for medals” and that his father “would never under any circumstances accept a medal for himself until the men he and his officers recommended received their medals first.”
Leo Quinlan said his family’s decision not to accept it won’t change “unless all of the Irish UN peacekeeping soldiers recommended for medals on the battlefield in Jadotville are awarded their medals too, albeit a great many of them, including Col Pat Quinlan, are now enjoying their eternal award.”
The family said this was the third time it had refused to accept the Distinguished Service Medal.
The 2021 report of the Independent Review Group on Jadotville stated that, in the years following the siege, six men from ‘A’ Company were recommended for the Military Medal for Gallantry, while twenty four were recommended for Recognition of Meritorious Service and three for promotion.
In 2017, a specially commissioned Jadotville service medal - ‘An Bonn Jadotville’ - was presented on behalf of each member of ‘A’ Company.