It's being reported that the Defence Forces recommended against
retrospectively awarding special medals to recognise the bravery of the
soldiers involved in the Siege of Jadotville sixty years ago.
Reviews in the 1960s recommended against awarding the medals to the men,
several of whom were from the Shannonside region
Survivors and their families have been behind a long-running campaign to
have the men officially recognised with the Defence Forces' highest bravery
honour
However, a report in today's Daily Mail suggests that the Defence Forces had
suggested that to award the bravery medals would undermine long-established
processes of honour in the Defence Forces.
They also claimed that to award the medals now would undermine the 143
medals awarded previously.
Last November the Minister for Defence Simon Coveney told the Seanad that
an independent group of experts would examine the gallantry medals for the
events of 1961 in the Congo.
Security expert Declan Power says the report is due in the coming months :
