42 April 5, 2020 MISSION: SON LDIERS RECOUNTT ATTACK: Lt Molloy Stress of ‘surreal’ firefights TANKS FOR BY EAMON DILLON MILITIA men in At SMALL BUT Tiri resorted to dirty EXCLUSIVE DEADLY: The tricks in bid to get BY EAMON DILLON AML 90 back on the Irish out of their patrol after the way to take over the KALASHNIKOV bullets battle Lebanese village . slamming off the ar- Some dressed as civilians rolled mour felt like a giant burning tyres to- hammer being used to wards Irish vehicles smash open the Irish and threw rocks claiming they were Army’s ‘little white protests against the tank’. UN in a psychologi- The impact sent flecks cal battle. Then a young of paint flying inside, Lieutenant, Johnny cutting TC Martin’s face Molloy said the as he drove the armoured crucial attack he car into position to fire led to knock-out an armoured vehicle back. came at the end of a The gunner, Thomas Jones, long week. in the confusion, thought “That was just one his pal had been hit but it incident at the end didn’t stop him loading the of very tense volatile high-explosive anti-tank week. It brought it round and aiming at the to a close.” militia’s armoured vehicle. “We had en- Jonesy’s fire was on the but- dured quite a bit ton and the commander, John- of violence from ny Molloy, radioed back to HQ: these people both “I’m finished firing, and he’s physical and a lot of finished moving.” mental violence. We Forty years ago this week the had a lot of casu- Battle of At Tiri in South Leb- alties, people that anon remains one of the Irish were traumatised,” Army’s biggest fire-fights and he said. saved a Shia village from being SHOOTING cleared of its people. “They were throwing roses at us The Limerick na- afterwards,” said TC, who turned tive, who went on to 22 on that day on April 12. be a commanding officer of the Irish PUNCH Ranger Wing later in But it was Jonesy, at 21, who his career, explained was the youngest of the three- “the biggest thing man crew of a Panhard AML here was the mental 90 armoured car which the thing.” Israelis, in a nod of respect, “You were shoot- dubbed the little white tank. ing, you were in the The little white tank was s**t, you were in small – but with a 90mm anti the height of it and -tank cannon mounted on top, then it relaxed. Then it packed a powerful punch. you were back in it A native of the garrison town again so it was very of Newbridge, young Jones We were hit about 13 or 14 times, destructive mentally had won his place in the 46th } on people,” he told Irish Battalion after edging out the Sunday World. colleagues in target shooting. it was like someone outside with the Members of the The Irish troops, who were so-called South part of the United Nations Lebanese Army biggest hammer you can imagine ~ missions, had been thrown into would shoot at the sharp end of the complex the Irish and then geo-political game between minutes later stroll the Americans, Israelis and down the road to Palestinians. cadge a couple of cigarettes In April 1980 that meant Israel was using Major Saad Hadd- “It was a bit surre- Forty-year anniversary of Irish UN troops’ legendary al – at times it was ad’s murderous ‘South Lebanese very calm and then Army’ to create a buffer zone the shooting would north of the Israeli border. It settled into a week-long that yoke coming up the road.” reaching the position. dominated the village from start again trying to They didn’t care how they stand-off with sporadic bouts During that time Galway The tactics had worked in the high ground. That task fell intimidate us out of did it, with Shia families being of intense gunfire. The Irish man Stephen Griffin was hit, other areas where UN vehicles to Molloy, Martin and Jones the place,” he said. kicked out of their homes at had to get permission each badly wounded and died a few were burned out. in the AML 90 and they went gunpoint as the ill-disciplined time to return fire. days later in hospital while a “After that they started to forward into a hail of fire to militia rode roughshod over “It was long periods of just Fijian soldier, Sevati Sovona- roll the burning tyres down the destroy the half-track that people’s lives. sitting there looking at them ivalu, was shot dead. hill. My job then was to shoot at threatened the Irish troops. When they went into At Tiri wondering what was going on. the tyres to knock them down on April 6, the Irish Battalion Then suddenly there’d be a CIVILIANS before they got to us. There was TURRET was holding their sports day. burst of gunfire,” said Jonesy. mayhem,” said Jonesy. “That’s when we got the call In the distance Israeli armour A number of Irish troops, After a week of the tense “We were hit about 13 or 14 out. I had to borrow a uniform, I could be seen moving about while including Jonesy’s brother stand-off it was decided that times. I hadn’t a clue, it was think I had Norwegian trousers Haddad’s men had their own Michael, were decorated for the time had come for the Irish like someone outside with the and a Dutch top,” said Jonesy. Super Sherman tanks adding to rescuing wounded men while troops to take back the village biggest hammer you can im- His reconnaissance unit the tense situation. under fire. and push Haddad’s men out. agine hitting the 90 as hard as armed up and got their vehicles Referring to when one of the The militia also forced ci- The first job that had to be they could,” recalled Jonesy. at Tibnin and went straight to tanks appeared in the village, vilians to throw rocks at the done was to take out the half- “There was nothing but At Tiri, where Irish troops on he said: “That was the day we UN soldiers who had to fire track vehicle armed with .50 flames coming off the inside — TENSE: Johnny Molloy checkpoints were cut off. s**t ourselves, when we saw over their heads to stop them calibre machine guns that just down the turret ring you N T THEIR TERRIFYING DAY IN AT AprilTI 5, 2020RI43 FORTHEMEMORIES BATTLE: A local surveys the damage (above left), the checkpoint at At Tiri in (below left) and Thomas Jones with a chunk of militia half-track (below right); and before it was blown up (below centre) round going over our heads. firefight to save villagers in Lebanon There was a serious clenching of arse,” he added. The experience didn’t stop could see the flames coming TC’s prayers were helped by the to have no effect, it turned out Trooper Thomas Jones go- off, flashes and sparks, the AML 90’s position as well as it its to be the thinnest part of the ing back to the Lebanon, paint flying off the inside of thick armoured-plating. half track, face-on. serving four tours over the turret. Johnny Molloy said that two “We didn’t destroy it but the course of a 32-year “We hadn’t an idea what was militia men had opened up at there was nobody on it. Then career. after happening, that was the we were given the order to go RECCE: Thomas them from close range; “There Likewise, Lieutenant first time. That was battle in- were two SLA guys lying in back up and neutralise it.” Jones relaxes oculation, to get hit that hard This time the two rounds John Molloy enjoyed a a field or ditch there and we long military career and with his first beer that close.” were driving up they lacerated fired from the AML 90 com- after At Tiri TC, who wasn’t getting his pletely destroyed the half- after retirement worked with Kalashnikovs as we were as UNIFIL’s civilian po- preferred style of birthday driving up the road.” track which went up in a party, remembered thinking spectacular explosion. litical officer in south that if he got out alive he’d ARMOUR They managed to avoid the Lebanon. light 12 candles in the church. attention of the Super Sher- Corporal TC Martin “On the way home from Dub- He fired two high-explosive man tanks, although later a was also happy to re- lin Airport with my mother rounds into the now unmanned round from one of the tanks turn to Lebanon, serving and father we stopped at Kill. half-track which went straight came close. seven tours of duty there I went into the church on my through its thin armour. “At one stage one of the Sher- during his 24 years in the own and did that,” said TC. “The first two rounds seemed mans fired, I could hear the Defence Forces. 22 March 8, 2020 N SEXTRADEEXPOSED CONTROL: IRELAND’S Crime gangs rake in easy money from trafficked women to funnel into deals for €180M drugs and weapons S€X TRADE ORGANISED crime gangs West African gangs have also been criminals are deeply entrenched in with a prostitute were stopped and EXCLUSIVE behind the exploitation of women in the sex trade. questioned. have an iron grip on Ireland’s BY EAMON DILLON the sex trade who came to Ireland “Because it’s a profitable business Since a law came into force making €180 million a year vice on the promise of getting a proper it is attractive to organised crim- it a crime to pay for sex, three people trade and use the cash to that’s where the harm is, and that’s job – but they were instead forced inals, it also brings in with it the have been convicted of the offence fund drugs and gun deals.