Irish Film Institute -International Film Directory – Film Listing

Congo: An Irish Affair

    • Director

      Brendan Culleton

    • Credits

      Producers: Brendan Culleton, Irina Maldea. Writers: Brendan Culleton, Rose Doyle

  • Category

    Documentary

Investigating the experiences of Irish soldiers and diplomats during the intervention of the UN in the Congo Crisis of the 1960s, Congo: An Irish Affair seeks to restore the story of an Irish battalion whose heroic actions were forgotten. Irish veterans of the conflict provide recollections as copious archive footage depicts the web of political influences, from the UN to international mining companies, which the soldiers found themselves caught in. Within this web director Brendan Culleton follows the 155 soldiers of A Company, 35th Battalion of the Irish Army and their commander, Commandant Pat Quinlan. These soldiers’ initially successful actions gave way to their being trapped in a siege that became a turning point in Congolese and international history. Celebrating the efforts of Quinland and his soldiers after decades of official neglect, An Irish Affair effectively portrays the failings that found soldiers dropped into a military and political debacle.

90 minutes, Ireland, 2011, Colour/B&W


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