I ‘m really excited, as I’m sure many Irish Defence Forces members and veterans are, with the recent news from Parallel Films who announced the details recently of a new movie to be produced in the coming months starring Northern Irish actor JAMIE DORNAN, which will detail the story of the SIEGE OF JADOTVILLE.
The action thriller, written by Kevin Brodbin, will focus on the siege of 150 Irish United Nations Peacekeeping troops led by Commandant Pat Quinlan in the Congo in 1961 and will be directed by Richie Smith.
The Battle of Jadotville: Irish Soldiers in Combat in the Congo, 1961 by Michael J. Whelan(c)2006
This was the subject of my first book, published by South Dublin Libraries in 2006, at a time when very little consideration was given to the event; and concentrates on the heroic actions of ‘A Company’ 35th Irish Infantry Battalion in the Republic of the Congo, while they served there as Peacekeepers, who after fighting a battle for survival against a superior force in numbers ran out of food water and ammunition and ended up in captivity. I know many of the surviving veterans and their families, and many, many more have passed away in the intervening years so I’m very happy that their story is to be portrayed on the big screen, probably the first time a historical event regarding the Irish Defence Forces will have been treated thus! Well done to all involved, I’m looking forward to seeing the finished film as are many in Ireland.
– See more at: http://www.hotpress.com/news/Jamie-Dornan-to-star-in-The-Siege-of-Jadotville/11956189.html#sthash.j4IZVvJW.dpuf
Michael J. Whelan - Writer 