We begin a new IDFVN series on the 32nd Infantry Battalion, the first Irish battalion ever deployed overseas with the United Nations.
The story starts in July 1960.
The Congo had only just gained independence from Belgium when the country slipped into crisis almost immediately. Order broke down, Belgian forces were still on the ground, and the United Nations moved quickly to prevent a wider collapse.
Ireland was asked to contribute troops.
There was no long preparation period. No gradual build-up. The request came, and the response had to be immediate.
On 22 July 1960, the 32nd Infantry Battalion was officially formed. Within days, soldiers from across the Defence Forces were being pulled together, medically examined, vaccinated, equipped, and briefed for a mission in a country most of them had never imagined they would see.
The unit history captures the pace of those days well.
Medical checks, X-rays, dental inspections, vaccinations, all carried out in rapid succession. At the same time, stores personnel were assembling and marking everything the battalion would need: weapons, ammunition, wireless sets, rations, medical supplies, engineer equipment, and transport.
In total, the battalion consisted of 45 officers, including two chaplains, and 640 other ranks. It was drawn from across the Army. Not one barracks. Not one region. It was a cross-section of the Defence Forces brought together for a mission unlike anything before it.
On Sunday 24 July, the battalion attended its first full-dress parade to Mass in the Curragh. Fr Brophy celebrated and preached. Afterwards, the commanding officer addressed the men on discipline, conduct, and responsibility.
That message mattered. These soldiers were not simply deploying as armed personnel. They were representing Ireland in a volatile international crisis under the UN flag.
On Tuesday 26 July, the Minister for External Affairs, the Minister for Defence, and the Chief of Staff addressed the battalion. Later that day, officers were received by the President at Aras an Uachtarain.
The following morning, Wednesday 27 July, the first contingent departed the Curragh.
They travelled by road to Dublin Castle, then paraded through the city. An Taoiseach, Sean Lemass, took the salute at the GPO. The unit history later described it as one of the most striking military parades ever seen in Dublin.
From Baldonnel, the airlift began.
US Air Force Hercules aircraft carried the first Irish troops out of the country and into a new chapter of Defence Forces history. The route took them through France, Libya, Nigeria, and Leopoldville before reaching Goma.
The aircraft were built for endurance, not comfort. The men travelled seated on canvas benches, tightly packed, flying for hours above the Sahara and into central Africa. Within less than two days of leaving Ireland, they were on the ground in Congo.
At Goma, they were met by Congolese soldiers, armed police, and large crowds of local civilians.
It was the beginning of Ireland's first battalion-strength deployment with the United Nations.
For the men of the 32nd Infantry Battalion, the transition from the Curragh to Central Africa happened at remarkable speed. In just over a week, they had moved from training grounds in Ireland to a country in crisis.
That is what makes this first chapter so significant.
The 32nd Infantry Battalion was not simply deployed. It was formed under pressure, equipped in haste, and sent into an uncertain mission at a moment when the United Nations itself was being tested.
These were the first Irish soldiers to carry a full battalion commitment overseas under the UN flag.
Story adapted from the 32nd Infantry Battalion Congo Unit History.