Francis Paul Malone from Ferrybank, Waterford and a survivor of the Siege of Jadotville, died on Monday, November 18.
The 82-year-old passed away in the company of his family at University Hospital Waterford.
Paul will be sadly missed by his wife Christine, his children Niamh, David, Philip, Tony, Dermot and Helena, his wider family, neighbours and a wide circle of friends.
He was predeceased by his parents Charles and Kathleen, brothers George and Maurice, sister Kathleen and his first wife Nuala.
As part of the A Company 35th Battalion of the Irish Defence Forces, then-Private Malone survived the Siege of Jadotville and time as a prisoner of war in what is now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Siege of Jadotville was a seven-day siege in 1961 where around 150 Irish soldiers, operating as part of a United Nations Operation, were besieged at the UN base near the mining town of Jadotville in Congo.
The small Irish force was attacked by 3,000 forces from the secessionist State of Katanga.
They fought valiantly with the siege only ending when the Irish soldiers ran out of ammunition and water and were forced to surrender.
The captured Irish soldiers were held as prisoners of war for a month before being freed.
Francis Paul Malone was one of the last remaining members of the peacekeeping mission.
He will be reposing in Power’s Funeral Home, Ferrybank on Wednesday, November 20, from 5pm.
His funeral mass will take place at The Sacred Heart Church, Ferrybank on Thursday, November 21, at 10am.
