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A PERMANENT MONUMENT has been unveiled at an Athlone barracks dedicated to the families of the Jadotville soldiers.
Irish soldiers from the ‘A’ Company of the 35th Infantry Battalion were on a peacekeeping mission manning a UN post in the town of Jadotville in the Congo in September 1961.
On 9 September, a large force of Katangese Gendarmerie surrounded the 158 men, and four days later they came under attack.
Until 17 September, when they were taken into captivity, they endured almost continuous attack.
The Irish soldiers were released on 25 October 1961.
Charlie Cooley, who was a member of the A company, attended the ceremony at Custume Barracks on Friday with his brother and former Defence Forces member Paul Cooley.
He still remembers the stress of that time when his brother had been captured.
He said: “I was only 10. And I remember my mother sitting in front of the fire every night crying and praying.
“At that time, there was no phones, we didn’t know what was happening, because there was no communications. The only phone in the town was in the centre of the town in a phone box.
“We just heard that Charlie was captured and that was it, we were just waiting for news to come through. We didn’t even know about the siege, what had happened or why.
“And then one night in October, I was going to the shop, I know it was dark.
“I was going up the road, and I heard a sort of a click clop of boots coming towards me.
“And the next thing I ran into my brother who was after being released and sent home and got home and he was in Edwardstown, and we didn’t even know he had been released.
“I physically ran into him like, that’s the truth now.
“Bumped off him and the next thing I looked up and it was him, I couldn’t believe it.”
When asked did his brother Charlie enjoy the ceremony, Paul Cooley said he was glad he came up to see the men he had served in the Congo with.
He added: “Charlie hasn’t spoken to me about the Congo, about what happened or anything like that. He hasn’t spoken to anybody, any of the family or anything like that.
“Whatever happened out there, he doesn’t talk about it and he doesn’t want to talk about it.”
At a ceremony in Custume Barracks to unveil the monument, Minister for Defence Simon Coveney said the aftermath of what became known as the Siege of Jadotville had a lasting effect on the soldiers and their families.
“The monument will stand here in Custume Barracks as a perpetual acknowledgement and recognition of the roles of the families, including all of you who have gathered here today,” Coveney said.
The surviving members of A Company, the members who had passed away and all their family members were remembered during the ceremony.
The monument bears the inscription “Honouring the unwavering support of the families of personnel of A Company 35 Infantry Battalion ONUC”.
It was commissioned on the recommendation of an independent review group established to examine the events at Jadotville in 1961, in recognition of the role of parents, wives and families during the Battle of Jadotville and the soldiers’ time in captivity.
When asked why the story of the Jadotville soldiers has endured, Cooley said it was because of the hostile way the soldiers were treated when they came home.
“The way they were treated when they come home, they were called cowards for surrendering, which if they didn’t surrender there would have been 158 caskets was coming home to Ireland.”
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Should be charged by Gardai now for attempted fraud.
Good to see this type of free loading chancery being tackled by the courts with this & other instances. Will she foot the bill? Unlikely but perhaps a stay in prison might deter others from this crap. I for one have a pain in my phukking hoop watching my insurance premiums skyrocket even though I’ve never had an accident to cover claims spurious or otherwise.
Caught rapid.
She should have criminal charges brought against her for insurance fraud, absolute criminal that she can walk away from this with only costs against her.
Hahaha. She has been shamed (that’s assuming she’s capable of feeling shame). Hope she’s reading this. Hope you back is ok love.
xoxoxoxoxo
What’s needed in this case is a prosecution against her for fraud. This might put an end to these ridiculous claims.
Hope the bill for costs is a big one….
If the bill is big she’ll likely just head back to Lithuania.
Agreed, but she’ll be leaving with nothing and at least it may serve as a deterrent to others thinking about making a fraudulent claim.
What about the legal team who allowed this to go to court?
I almost had to close my business of 60 excellent employees by catastrophic insurance hikes due entirely to fake injuries and bogus claims lodged by mainly eastern europe employees working in concert and this in many instances by partners and friends .
Great to see guys flushed out at last ,they threaten jobs and the reputation of their very hard working country men and women .
Insurers are really to blame by not stamping this out at an early stage instead of settling claims without proper analysis during the good times .
When will people cop on and realise if you post your life on FB then be prepared to be caught on in your lies. Another good day for justice.
Ssshhhh. Let them post away. It helped in this case and hopefully more idiots will be caught out like this.
There needs to be jail terms for this, stiff penalties are the only way to discourage these types of people. The risk must be far greater then the reward!
This story has put a smile on my face. Delighted for her.
It’s people like this with their false claims that are pushing up insurance premiums for ordinary decent people.
A lot of people don’t seem to understand how insurance works though. On another article a couple of days ago one commenter said it was just another form of tax that you never get anything back from. Its no wonder a lot of people can’t seem to join the dots when it comes to insurance fraud and premium costs etc. if their basic understanding of insurance is so lacking.
It’s one thing you consistently pay for in life that hope you never need
I mentioned this in a previous injury claim that was dismissed but I think it’s needs to be pointed out again. This lady I’m 100% sure had reports from various medical personnel backing and verifying her claim. The medical profession need to start being held accountable for this “fraud” racket as well.
In fairness, if you read medical reports of this nature they usually present subjective (reported by the patient) and objective (found by the doctor). A doctor can’t simply write “I think this woman is faking it” but they can write down what the woman claims, and then write what they themselves find. The court will usually see through the lines.
Unfortunately, pain is subjective and different for all of us. Makes it hard for the fakers to get caught!
Sean ,you will find that her medical advisor has most likely relocated to Ireland from her own region to become the specialist advisor for all of these scammers ,this applies to the legal advisors too and some irish who gain a reputation for no foal no fee but a high percentage of the takings .
Great news! More results like this please! These fraudulent claims are the reason my car insurance premiums are so high despite having a perfect record.
stung!
She should get a custodial sentence for that as well as pay all costs associated
I’d settle for her to be deported.
She will probably try sue her solicitor now for not informing her of the pitfalls of posting on FB while trying to commit fraud.
Was she that stupid to think she would be checked. People are so stupid when it comes to social media putting pictures on Facebook when they are supposed to sick or injured. Will they ever learn.
Jaysus that’s a racy avatar :)
Are you alright there Fergal?
Prefer Peanut.
Take the dole money of the Bi##h as well for quitting her job
What a chancer..
If that photo in the bikini is a result of the accident, she deserves millions.
cast iron neck.
She should be put forward for the Seanad
“Groarke said all litigants must be honest with the court and failure to do so attracted the penalty of dismissal.”
Interesting.
The penalty for perjury redefined by the President of the Circuit Court.
There is no law on the Irish statue book regarding perjury I’m afraid. http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/the-haphazard-state-of-perjury-law-1.357008 I know the article is old but the law hasn’t changed and somehow I doubt our politicians are in much of a hurry in that regard.
Surely there could be criminal charges brought in this case!
Such a blatant fraudulant claim should be pursued!
Hahahahahahahahahahahaha sorry sorry. Hahahahahahahahahahahaha. ……
Finally Facebook useful for something and she’ll be working more than 6 months to pay costs and rightly so.
Busted!
Scarlet for her , I’d say she was in a heap up on that stand !
The sindo focussed on how much of a “stunning beauty” she is and even gave a weblink to her facebook profile pictures. Glad you removed that when you copied and pasted, journal. ;-)
The Sindo just saw the “nuclear” tan and assumed it was one of their own lovelies…
We paid a Romanian pimp €35,000 in backdated social welfare, so I suppose this little slimebag figured she’d get some handy cash too.
They all regard us as a soft touch.
Not so sure Micheal:
“Having read the medical reports and listening to the plaintiff’s evidence, the court is far from impressed by the veracity of her account of her injuries,” Groarke said.”
This would appear to me as if the medical reports held a true account of her injuries, while she tried to embellish them. The barrister attacks her account of the injuries, but not the medical reports.
It’s a difficult situation for a doctor when a patient is telling you something that is not reflected in x rays or MRI’s – take back pain for example, just because nothing shows up on MRI – does not mean the pain doesn’t exist.
Very serious questions have to be asked of the doctors who provided the “medical” evidence to support this case and of the insurance companies that are ever so willing to settle out of court, the excuse being that a doctors note trumps everything.
The lawyers should also be charged and fined. It will deter the range of them that profit from this crime.
What an idiot.
Caught my her muscular balls
Another chancer if you ask me but our legal system depends on them for business? Any chance that the ambulance chasing solicitors might also be penalised for assisting in this type of fraud?
They should investigate her for drug smuggling because it looks like she’s concealing several pounds of crack in those bikini bottoms.
That bikini is too tight to hold anything up.
May be the reason she was shown up
That bikini is too tight to hold anything up.
May be the reason she was shown up
Are perjury laws ever utilised? Obviously this is a summary, but on the face of it it looks like an open and shut case.
Same thing is happening to me, but Fbd told me I can’t defend it cause I admitted liability . And they’re just going to pay out the personal injury claim. Any ideas what I can do????
There are too many petty claims these days and no-one takes responsibility for anything its compensation first !!! It needs to be nipped in the bud before it gets to court ..sue her for wasting valuable time!!
Reminds me of del boy and uncle Albert and solly the brief
Thank god this one was caught on the act.
Only god knows how many of these bogus claims get through every day.
Not only this woman should be punished. The solicitor and the Barrister that help her initiates this claim should also be fined to deter them from taking such an obviously bogus case.
This will save all of us from the high cost of insurance
Neck like a bockeys jollox….. Delighted for her………..
2nd Free-loader / Fraudster caught in a week due to their F/Book postings – Brill.
what’s that under your cloak Judge??
finally some real justice brill
What’s “worrying” is that the judiciary can only detect a total BS story when absolutely irrefutable evidence is produced. Many of us pay thousands in insurance premiums every year solely because these selfish, unethical & criminal clowns convince judges of their greatly exaggerated (non) injuries.
The medical report of an accident victim truly plays a crucial role in determining whether he has the right to seek compensation. The police reports reflect a more vivid picture of whether the accident was caused by the negligence of the other party or not. The claimants shouldn’t by any means try to fabricate the truth associated with an accident case. Expert attorneys associated with a law firm like Shireslaw have gained adequate knowledge and experience in handling these cases more effectively.
Claims need to be awarded on the basis of a victim’s medical records since the time of the accident. Victims must understand certain facts before submitting their claims. They must understand that the personal injury lawyers are experts that have handled such cases for years and are aware of the tricks of their trade. So, no foul play is admissible!
These people have little accident and they feel compensation setting in, Irish people have been doing that fort years.
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