Donning the blue beret
THE Irish UN mission to the Congo received just recognition last Friday in a commemoration ceremony to mark the 50th anniversary of the deployment of Irish troops on their first overseas UN posting.
It was the start of what has become an illustrious history, and an aspect of Irish foreign policy for which we can justifiably take pride.
This was more than evident last Friday when hundreds of army veterans gathered at Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnel to mark the day, 50 years ago, when many of them set off for the Congo.
Now in their late 60s and 70s, these men faced into the unknown in their teens and early 20s with limited world and combat experience. Many had never even left their own counties. Hindsight would quickly show that they were ill equipped, and totally unprepared for the veritable warzone they were entering into.
The organisation of the Congo mission was a rushed job, and the army had only a few days to form a batallion of almost 700 men. A second batallion followed a month later.
It proved to be the steepest of learning curves in a hostile country which had descended into chaos and civil war. The initial problems were manifold, ranging from difficulties with unsuitable uniforms to linguistics, to the logistics of patrolling an area the size of Ireland, with very poor communication supports.
The mission commenced with a great mood of optimism. At its conclusion four years later, this had all changed. It had involved 6,000 troops, of which 26 lost their lives, nine in the infamous Niemba massacre of November 1960.
The death toll and the conditions in which the soldiers found themselves quickly dispelled the mood of a boys own adventure which marked the commencement of the operation.
The Irish soldiers acquitted themselves admirably, playing an integral part in the history of the region, in episodes such as the fight to save the city of Elizabethville.
In effect they set the scene for all overseas mission since, inaugurating 50 years of professional service to the UN. For a country asserting its independence and world role, the participation of troops in overseas peacekeeping operations marked a watershed moment, a coming of age not only for the army, but for the Irish state.
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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