Teenage members of the Defence Forces suffered instances of psychological torture and physical assault at the Army Apprentice School in Co Kildare in the late-1980s, a judge-led tribunal into allegations of assault and misconduct within the Army has heard.
Several groups and organisations made applications at a hearing of the Defence Forces tribunal on Monday for legal representation for the duration of the tribunal, and outlined some of the reasoning for their submissions to the tribunal.
In making his application for legal representation to Ms Justice Ann Power, Ian Hutchinson, part of the 34th Platoon Army Apprentice School Justice Group, said he wanted to speak for a number of Defence Forces members who suffered various forms of abuse while part of the 34th Platoon in the Army’s apprentice school in Naas, Co Kildare in the late-1980s.
“Our story is one of incidents of bullying, harassment, psychological torture and cases of physical assault,” said Mr Hutchinson, himself an ex-member of the platoon.
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Mr Hutchinson gave one example of a platoon member taking his own life after being singled out for verbal and psychological abuse. “In all, three members of the 34th Platoon committed suicide within 10 years of their time in Naas,” he said.
He said those aware of instances of abuse did not intervene, and warning signs were ignored.
Gerard Cullen, representing three current and former Defence Forces members, said two of his clients had been forced out of the Army “for their own safety” after they tried to raise issues through the Army’s complaints process.
One of the three men received a threatening phone call from people purporting to be connected to the Kinahan organised crime group, Mr Cullen said, after he made an informal complaint about another officer through the Army’s Personal Support Services.
Another of his clients also received threatening messages from men purporting to be connected to the Kinahans. A Garda investigation into the messages did not result in any prosecutions, Mr Cullen said.
The Women of Honour group, whose allegations of widespread abuse and misconduct in the Defence Forces led to the establishment of the tribunal, also applied for legal representation.
Eamon Bradley SC paid tribute to the group, stating that if it were not for the women involved, the ongoing tribunal likely would not exist. He said his clients stood up and shared their “often horrific personal experiences” within the Defence Forces “at a time when it was not easy to do so”.
He noted that those involved in Women of Honour risked “reputational issues” in the context of the inquiry, arguing that they should be allowed full legal representation.
Retired Comdt Leo Quinlan, for the Jadotville Justice Community, also applied for legal representation. In 1961, 156 Defence Forces soldiers were besieged in a UN base close to the mining town in Jadotville, in the modern day Democratic Republic of Congo, under attack from a 3,000-strong force loyal to the breakaway state of Katanga.
After holding off the Katanganese forces for five days, the Irish troops eventually surrendered on running out of ammunition and water. The Irish battalion, remarkably, suffered no fatalities.
Comdt Quinlan, whose father, Pat Quinlan, led the Irish forces in Jadotville, said the incident was ignored by the Defence Forces and the government for years, “no medals, no nothing”, leading to long-term psychological harm among soldiers and damage to their families. He said some of the men who were involved in the fighting took their own lives years later.
Various other organisations and groupings, including the Defence Forces, the Minister for Defence, Air Corps Chemical Abuse Survivors and PDForra, made applications on Monday for full or partial legal representation.
Ms Justice Power said she would make a decision on legal representation for the various parties “shortly”. She also extended the deadline for the submission of statements to the tribunal to September 30th.
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