Tag Archives: congo

Ireland’s Wars: Unokat, Grandslam And The End In The Congo

The events of September 1961 were critical in the history of the Congo Crisis in general and for ONUC in particular. Operation Morthor had essentially been a disaster, a mission that fell far short of its objectives and resulted in … Continue reading

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Ireland’s Wars: The Siege Of Jadotville

Not counting the supplementary editions, this is the 500th entry in the Ireland’s Wars series. And hey, the end is in sight, kind of. Thanks again to all readers. subscribers, commenters (the nice ones anyway) and well-wishers for sticking with … Continue reading

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Ireland’s Wars: Rumpunch And Morthor

After the problems of the initial deployment in the Congo, the Irish contingent had settled down to a life of barracks duty and presence patrols, as ONUC attempted to fulfill the mission that had it in the country in the … Continue reading

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Ireland’s Wars: Niemba

It was the Autumn of 1960, and the Irish Army was firmly committed to the United Nations mission in the Congo. Several battalions of soldiers had arrived in the south-eastern province of Katanga and, along with the larger multi-national mission, … Continue reading

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Ireland’s Wars: The United Nations And The Congo Crisis

Our “coverage” of the 20th century in terms of Ireland’s military history now affords us the opportunity to look at the sorts of things that Ireland was able to do with its regular military forces as a free and independent … Continue reading

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Review: The Siege Of Jadotville

The Siege Of Jadotville Trailer Believe you me, this is one of the most surprising films I have come across ever. The story of the Irish peacekeepers at Jadotville is one that is bizarrely unknown even in Ireland, and the … Continue reading

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The Stupidest Thing I’ve Read This Week (5/5/12)

Third place this week goes to a project on Kickstarter, looking to get funds in order to carry out a scientific expedition to the Congo. The aim is to discover and document new insect and animal species. All well and … Continue reading

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Niemba

50 years ago today, the Irish Army suffered its single worst engagement in its post Civil War history. Nine members of a patrol of eleven were killed in an ambush carried out by Baluba tribesmen. Part of the UN force ONUC, … Continue reading

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The Congo Revisted/Ireland’s Veterans/Jet Fighters Over Eire

RTEs Nationwide featured a brief interview/recap segment yesterday covering the Irish Army’s peacekeeping mission to the Congo in 1960. Check it out on the RTE player service. Some fascinating interviews there. Towards the end of that segment, we see several veterans … Continue reading

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The Irish Army And Why It’s Needed

The Sunday Tribune is what I read Sunday mornings. I’m not completely won over by the paper (It’s very anti-whoever’s in government at the time and employs some rather stupid people like Una Mullally) but apart from that its a decent read. … Continue reading

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