THE MISSION to the Congo was “something of which Ireland can be proud,” Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has said.
He
was speaking at a Mass in the Church of Mary Immaculate, Rathmines,
Dublin, on Saturday to mark today’s 50th anniversary of the Niemba
ambush, in which nine Irish soldiers died.
“The distinguished
history of peacekeeping carried out by our Defence Forces, An Garda
Síochána and our foreign service – involving also our volunteers and our
missionaries – has brought honour to the name of Ireland.
“We can
be proud of our soldiers who have shown courage and humanity in their
interaction with the people”, but also “a unique capacity in their
specific mission as military peacekeepers. Few countries have attained a
similar capacity technically and humanly,” he said.
He singled
out for praise the five Defence Forces chaplains with whom he
concelebrated the Mass.
“Look after them,” he asked Defence Forces
personnel present, “they are great people, all of them”.
Earlier, a
special commemorative ceremony was held nearby in the Memorial Garden
at Cathal Brugha Barracks.
In attendance were former soldiers who had
served in the Congo, the two survivors of the Niemba ambush, Tom Kenny
and Joe Fitzpatrick, and relatives of the men who died.
Minister
of State Áine Brady was among those who laid wreaths. Also there were
Cmdt Mick Treacy representing the Taoiseach, Minister for the
Environment John Gormley, Labour Party TD Ruairí Quinn and Defence
Forces chief of staff Lieut Gen Seán McCann. Lord Mayor of Dublin Gerry
Breen attended the Mass which followed.
Yesterday, at the UN
Memorial Garden in Dublin’s Arbour Hill, all 91 Irishmen who died while
on UN service abroad were remembered at the annual wreath-laying
ceremony.
There was an emphasis on the men who died at Niemba, with
Pierrot Ngadi, chairman of the Congolese Anti-Poverty Network, laying a
wreath on behalf of his country.
Minister of State John Curran
said the Niemba massacre represented “the single greatest loss by the
Defence Forces since the foundation of the State”.
In attendance were
Dublin’s deputy Lord Mayor Ruairí McGinley and Defence Forces chief of
staff Seán McCann.
A wreath was also laid by Jennifer Grene, whose
husband Andrew died in Haiti’s earthquake last January.
A political
affairs officer, he was the most recent Irish person to die on UN duty.
SIC: IT/IE