Handmade Copper Artwork Of The Siege of Jadotville
The Siege of Jadotville PRIVATE MATTHEW QUINLAN “A” COMPANY 35TH BATTALION, I handcrafted this traditional large, heavy repoussé copper with an antique look framed in a vintage frame. A traditional Celtic crafted copper that represents a continuation of a long tradition of Celtic Irish Art. Begun by our ancient forefathers “Thee Ancient Celts’’ crafted with Celtic magic in an aged, honoured tradition. Private Matthew Quinlan. Matt served in the “A, Company 35th Battalion” of the Irish Defence Forces. He died not knowing that his courage & bravery, while under fire during “The Siege of Jadotville” at only 16 years of age.
Has been recognised by his Commanding Officers & the people of Ireland as a hero. The first few photos are of my plaque in the Museum, the historical society of Carrick on Shannon. The last photo is my plaque in the mayor’s office in Winton, Queensland, Australia; it will be hung in the Winton Museum over the next few weeks. Siege of Jadotville At 07:40 on the morning of Wednesday, 13 September 1961, the Katangese attacked while many of the UN Irish troops were attending mass. The Katangese expected to catch the men off guard. The first attackers moved in rapidly. But they were spotted by an Irish sentry who fired his rifle.
This alerted the company to the threat. A combined force of mercenaries, Belgian settlers, plus local tribespeople attacked the Irish. The attackers had a strength of 3,000 plus mostly Katangese & settlers. There were also many Belgian, & French, along with Rhodesian mercenaries armed with a mix of weapons. They could also call on limited air support from a French-built Fouga Magister, a light ground attack jet fitted with a pair of underwing bombs with twin 7.5 mm machine guns. The aircraft attacked several times during the Siege of Jadotville. The Irish UN soldiers were armed with personal weapons, several water-cooled Vickers machine guns, 60mm mortars, with two Irish-built Ford Mark VI armoured cars.
The Katangese attacked in waves of 600 or so, preceded by bombardment from 81mm mortars along with a French 75mm field gun. The Irish Platoon knocked out most of the Katangese mortar along with artillery positions, including the 75mm gun, with counter-battery fire from 60mm mortars. The fire from the UN Irish positions proved accurate & very effective. Mercenary officers have reportedly observed shooting native gendarmes stem the route caused in Katangese lines. The Katangese asked Pat Quinlan for a cease-fire, so they could move their dead & wounded from the battlefield. Pat Quinlan agreed.
The Katangese infringed on the cease-fire agreement. They used it as a dirty tactic putting several snippers on the battlefield while moving their dead & wounded to undermine the 35th Battalion’s position. Several days later, the besieged Irish radioed their headquarters: ” asking them to send aid. They told headquarters, “We will hold out until our last bullet is spent”, & “We could do with some whiskey’’. In the end, with the A” Company position untenable, without any clear orders or promise of assistance, having run out of ammunition, food & low on water, Pat Quinlan accepted the second offer to surrender to the Katangese in the afternoon of Sunday, 17 September. During the conflict, “A” Company, 35”th Battalion, suffered five wounded in action during the siege.
The Katangese suffered up to 300 killed, including 30 mercenaries, with an indeterminate number of wounded, with figures ranging from 300 to 1,000. They were disarmed & taken prisoner, after which they were taken into Katangese custody. The Irish soldiers were held as hostages for approximately one month. Irish veterans spoke of the local women baying for their blood in revenge for the local men killed in the battle. The Irish troops were, however, protected by European mercenaries. They were later exchanged, along with some other UN soldiers, for Katangese prisoners held by the UN, & the Congo government.
The UN was also forced to hand back the positions the UN had seized in Elizabethville in the exchange deal with the Katangese. After being released, they were returned to their base in Elisabethville. A few weeks later, “A” Company again became involved in active combat. This time with the support of Swedish UN troops. Eventually, they were reinforced with fresh troops from Ireland (their replacement was the 36th Battalion). After weeks of fighting, in their six-month tour of duty in the Congo, they returned to Ireland. Until the early 21st century, the Irish government & Defence forces did not give much recognition to the battle of Jadotville. The term “Jadotville Jack” was sometimes applied as a term of derision about the Irish Defence Forces.
They were perceived as shameful cowards from the lies that were told about why they had surrendered… After the incident, none of the Irish soldiers received any decoration for their actions at Jadotville. However, Pat Quinlan recommended a number of his men for the Military Medal for Gallantry (MMG), Ireland’s highest award for military valour, for their actions during the battle. Although “A” Company, 35th Battalion had tactically defeated a more significant enemy force at Jadotville. The Irish Defence Forces’ leadership did not acknowledge the soldier’s bravery in the battle for many decades.
The Irish government & UN politics where stupidity is not a handicap. The terrible strategic errors they demonstrated at higher levels while Irish troops served in the Congo in 1961 are hard to fathom. The fact that the Irish government & UN, in a bid to hide their own mistakes, attempted to cover up the bravery of “A” COMPANY 35TH BATTALION in the Siege of Jadotville. They hoped their bravery would go unnoticed. But decades later, the truth came out in the end over 55 years later, in 2016. The Irish government awarded a Presidential Unit Citation to “A” Company, the first in Irish history. The men of “A” COMPANY 35TH BATTALION are heroes one & all. The Siege of Jadotville will be written down in the annals of Irish history as one of Ireland’s most significant moments of bravery on a battlefield. Check out the movie link here from Youtube for a movie based on the Siege of Jadoville
Handcrafted Cooper Artwork
My handcrafted artwork of The Siege of Jadotville PRIVATE MATTHEW QUINLAN “A” COMPANY 35TH BATTALION, was a custom artwork that I crafted. All my artworks are unique and embody Irish craft, interesting design, and creativity. I’m originally from the capital of Ireland, Dublin. I’m living in Australia for many years. I’m a very proud Irish man. Ireland is known for its songs and stories, history and own umnique Irish language. If you have a design in mind that you would like, feel free to email me with the details.
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