The Irish soldier has never been a stranger to fighting the enemy with the odds stacked against him. The notion of charging into adversity has been a cherished part of Ireland’s military history. In September 1961, another chapter should have been written into the annals, but it is a tale that lay shrouded in dust for years. The men of A Company, Thirty-Fifth Irish Infantry Battalion, arrived in the Congo as a United Nations contingent to help keep the peace. For many it would be their first trip outside their native shores. Some of the troops were teenage boys, their army-issue hobnailed boots still unbroken. They had never heard a shot fired in anger. Others were experienced professional soldiers but were still not prepared for the action that was to take place. Led by Commandant Pat Quinlan, A Company found themselves tasked with protecting the European population at Jadotville, a small mining town in the southern Congolese province of Katanga. It fell to A Company to protect those who would later turn against them. On September 13th, 1961, the bright morning air of Jadotville was shattered by the sound of automatic gunfire. The men of A Company found their morning mass parade interrupted, and within minutes they went from holding rosaries to rifles as they entered the world of combat. This was to be no Srebrenica; though cut off and surrounded, the men of Jadotville held their ground and fought. This is their story.

"It is a pity that we, who never believed in the use of force, must suffer for the blunders of little dictators and stupid military leaders."--Comdt Patrick Quinlan, Jadotville, Sept. 1961 ***This new edition from the soldiers' perspectives coincides with the forthcoming Netflix film starring Jamie Dornan. In 1961, during the United Nations intervention in the Katangan conflict in the Congo, central Africa, a company of Irish peacekeeping troops, led by Comdt Patrick Quinlan, was forced to surrender to soldiers loyal to Katanga's prime minister, Moise Tshombe. Originally dispatched to protect Belgian colonists in Jadotville, they were isolated, without water, supplies, or support when they were attacked and forced to defend themselves in a brutal five-day battle. Shamefully neglected by their superiors, they were portrayed as cowards upon their return home. Rose Doyle draws on material provided by Leo Quinlan, son of Comdt Quinlan, as well as interviews, reports, journals and letters to bring answers to an episode that has been under-represented. She blows the lid off the real story of what happened, exposing how Irish peacekeeping soldiers became pawns in an international ploy for control of Katanga and its vast mineral wealth. *** "by far the fullest account of . . . what became known in the Irish Army as the Jadotville Affair" --The Irish Times Subject: Military History, History, Irish Studies]

Sean Alcott is pulled from the gutter when an undercover operation goes wrong. His next assignment involves infiltrating a crime family run by fearsome matriarch Aileen Molloy. He immerses himself in his new life and eventually falls for Aileen’s daughter Wren but everything changes when the body of a biker cop is found dumped outside a police station with a list of undercover officers nailed to its forehead. Alcott’s name is on the list. Yet for Alcott, who has found purpose behind the mask, there is something far worse awaiting him than his possible death, something involving his lover’s own masks and secrets.

Into Action is the story of the Irish Defence Forces’ role as international peacekeepers since 1960. While primarily posted to uphold the transition towards peace in overseas conflicts, they have at times inevitably been forced to fight back against often aggressive opposition. Dan Harvey’s fascinating and accessible history follows the major military incidents in the peacekeepers’ sixty-year campaign, from Niemba, the Siege at Jadotville, and Elizabethville in the Congo to At-Tiri in Lebanon, and Durbol in Syria. These are to name just a few of the military engagements that involved supreme bravery on behalf of the Irish Defence Forces and, at times, ended in terrible tragedy. Dan Harvey’s detailed account of the military operations they were involved in reveal the defence forces’ effective responses to crisis and conflict; how they stood firm during ethnically-motivated rioting in Gracancia or intervened in the midst of a clash between Chadian government forces and rebel attackers, and how the Irish nation was halted into mourning in November 1960 by news that nine soldiers of the 33rd Irish Battalion had been killed by Baluba warriors near Niemba in the Congo. These are the deeds and tragedies that have come to define Ireland’s role in international peacekeeping. Into Action reveals the true story of this role and the immense courage that have underlined its operations from the beginning.

During the course of operations, a company of Irish troops was deployed to protect the inhabitants of the village of Jadotville. Not long after deployment, the troops found themselves heavily out-numbered and engaged in a pitched battle with native Congolese soldiers led by white mercenary officers. Though many of the men fought bravely, some going on to be decorated for valour at later stages, they were made to feel inferior within the army. To have served at Jadotville was something to have been ashamed of.

“Zoo Station is a beautifully crafted and compelling thriller with a heart-stopping ending as John Russell learns the personal faces of good and evil. An unforgettable read.”-Charles Todd, author of the Inspector Ian Rutledge series Praise for previous books by David Downing: “The author combines his erudition with an excellent political imagination. He writes well, clearly and has a nice wit.”-The Sunday Times (London) “An atmospheric thriller . . . furious pacing.”-Booklist “An elegant rapid-fire spy story.”-The Virginian-Pilot “Compulsive reading.”-The Sunday Telegraph (London) By 1939, Anglo-American journalist John Russell has spent over a decade in Berlin, where his son lives with his mother. He writes human-interest pieces for British and American papers, avoiding the investigative journalism that could get him deported. But as World War II approaches, he faces having to leave his son as well as his girlfriend of several years, a beautiful German starlet. When an acquaintance from his old communist days approaches him to do some work for the Soviets, Russell is reluctant, but he is unable to resist the offer. He becomes involved in other dangerous activities, helping a Jewish family and a determined young American reporter. When the British and the Nazis notice his involvement with the Soviets, Russell is dragged into the murky world of warring intelligence services. David Downing grew up in suburban London and is the author of numerous works of fiction and nonfiction for adults and children, including The Moscow Option, Russian Revolution 1985, and The Red Eagles. He lives with his wife, an American acupuncturist, in Guildford, England. From the Hardcover edition.