Former Irish soldier lifts lid on story behind Siege of Jadotville made into Netflix film

John Gorman was just 17—baby-faced and barely out of boyhood—when he was deployed to the Congo in 1961 with A Company of the 35th Battalion. He had joined the army in Mullingar and was later stationed at the Barracks in Athlone. Like many of the lads beside him, he had never been on a plane before. Of the 156 soldiers in A Company, 104 were young, single men—most of them leaving Ireland for the first time in their lives.

Many of the men he served with—including Colonel Joe Leech, Leo Boland, and Mick Tighe—would later return to Ireland and go on to serve in the 17th Infantry Battalion.

But in 1961, there were 156 Irish soldiers stationed in a dusty outpost in Jadotville, surrounded by 3,000 Katangese fighters and French mercenaries. What happened next became one of the most astonishing—and for decades, untold—stories in Irish military history.

“We were branded cowards when we came home,” Gorman told the Leitrim Observer. “But the mistakes were made by the officers at the top. Not us. We did our job—and we did it better than anyone thought possible.”

Led by the tactically brilliant Commandant Pat Quinlan, the Irish troops held their ground for five days under relentless fire. Despite the overwhelming odds, they forced their attackers to fight for every inch—killing 300, wounding over 1,000, while suffering no fatalities and only five injuries on their side.

“It was us or them—and we were ready,” Gorman said. “We were blessed to have Joe Leech as our platoon commander. He led from the front and never left a man behind. And Jack Pendergast—our company sergeant—he was a gentle giant. Could’ve run the whole outfit himself if he had to.”

Gorman served in Number One Section of Number One Platoon—the front line that was never breached.

“We captured mercenaries. We took over their base. We had them,” he said. “But when the ammunition ran out, we called a ceasefire. That’s when they took us prisoner—during a ceasefire. They didn’t respect the word like we did. That was wrong.”

‘You try to forget. But you don’t.’

The scars of Jadotville stayed with him long after the mission ended.

“My wife moved out of the bedroom for years after,” he said. “She’d say, ‘You were shouting last night.’ I yelled in my sleep for years, I’d be yelling ‘keep your head down’ in my sleep. Stuff I heard back in the trenches. You try to forget. But you don’t.”

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Gorman became one of the key figures in the decades-long campaign to have the men of Jadotville properly honoured. He tracked down survivors, lobbied politicians, and never let the memory of those days fade.

“When Minister Coveney thanked me for my years of work, my legs started shaking. He meant it. His department wouldn’t have known where half the lads were. But I kept a list. I still have it.”

From the Congo to Netflix

In 2016, the world finally heard their story when Netflix released The Siege of Jadotville, a gripping retelling of the battle based on true events.

“It took me a long time to get to Hollywood—but I made it,” he laughed.

Actor Ronan Raftery portrayed Gorman in the film. “I’m the mad fella throwing snakes out of the trench,” he said. “There were snakes out there alright. Small ones. Nasty little bastards. That part’s true.”

While the film took creative liberties, Gorman says he’s glad it brought global attention to the battle: “Netflix paid for the rights. They had to make it work for a worldwide audience. And they did. People finally know what happened.”

The last men standing

Of the original 156 men in A Company, only around 26 or 27 are still alive. Gorman is one of them.

He still thinks about men like Jack Pendergast and Anthony “Shinner” McInerney, whom he buried with full honours. “Shinner was a gas man. A lovely fella. A good sniper too—but they were all good shots. We had 156 snipers, I used to say. Every one of us could shoot.”

Asked if it changed his life, he doesn’t hesitate. “Of course it did. You can’t go through something like that and not be changed. And you can’t ever really leave it behind.”

Today, John Gorman lives with the memories, the medals, and the legacy of one of Ireland’s greatest military stand-offs.

Lieutenant Joe Leech and Captain Liam Donnelly shortly after their release as prisoners of war.