OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE ANCIENT ORDER OF HIBERNIANS IN LOUISIANA VOLUME 8, ISSUE 2 MARCH - MAY 2017 www.aohla.com ICHARD OSEPH RENNAN R Louisiana State Board - R J B J . Ancient Order of Hibernians HIBERNIAN OF THE YEAR @LouisianaHibern The Louisiana State Board of more. He spent the summer the Ancient Order of of 1981 at home in LOUISIANA AOH Hibernians - Archbishop Commander’s, working with Hannan Division, Cardinal a young and energetic chef Gibbons Division, Acadian and good leader by the name UPCOMING Division, Republic of West of Emeril Lagasse. In 1982, Florida Division, and Fr. he spent a semester abroad in EVENTS Thomas “Mossy” Gallagher Rome, learning to cook in ------Division proudly announce the Italian manner. In 1983, CELTIC BAYOU FEST Brother Richard Joseph he went to New York to “Dickie” Brennan Jr. as work with Larry Forgione, LAFAYETTE Hibernian of the Year for who had been mentored by FRIDAY, MARCH 10 2017. James Beard after which he AOH-SPONSORED A member of the “first spent two more months in CRAWFISH BOIL family of New Orleans the south of France at a SATURDAY, MARCH 11 restaurateurs,” Brennan, 55, language school and then is the second child and only worked in six kitchens in MUSIC ALL DAY son of Lynne Trist Brennan Paris (an “M.B.A. in PUTNAM PARK and the late Richard J. cooking”). LAFAYETTE STREET Brennan Sr. and a lifelong In 1985, he came home to ------native of New Orleans. He run the Brennan’s family SATURDAY, MARCH 11 attended Ecole Classique restaurant in Houston, Texas IRISH CHANNEL MASS grammar school and graduated Richard Sr. taking full control of with his cousin Alex and building from De La Salle High School in Commander’s, which he then the family business despite the AND PARADE 1979 and Loyola University in restored and transformed from a challenges presented by the oil ST. ALPHONSUS 11:30 Finance in 1983. From the time he French restaurant to one that bust. It was a great learning ------was a young man, he was going pioneered American regional experience and was where he met FRIDAY, MARCH 17 into the restaurant business. His cuisine. Whereas the old chefs his future wife and mother of his family started with the Old received classical training, the new children. In 1991, he celebrated Absinthe House in the French breed of chefs had no training at all two major events, the first being FEAST OF Quarter, took over the Vieux and educated themselves; thus, the the birth of his daughter Sara ST. PATRICK Carré Restaurant, and then opened elder Brennan empowered his Lynne Brennan and the opening of APOSTLE OF the Royal Street location that chefs to go and learn and then the Palace Café on Canal Street became Brennan’s. The Brennans bring back what they had mastered. with his sister Lauren Brennan MASS 12 NOON then purchased Commander’s Starting with Julia Child and Brower and restauranteur Steve ST. PATRICK’S CHURCH Palace from the Moran Family in continuing through Paul Pettus. In the old Werlein’s music 1969. Prudhomme, Jamie Shannon, and store where many New Orleanians Had his father been a basketball now Tory McPhail, Commander’s went to purchase their musical IRISH CHANNEL FESTIVAL coach, Brennan would have been a Palace became a hatchery of the instruments and sheet music (and ANNUNCIATION SQUARE “gym rat.” Instead, the senior country’s best chefs; and Dickie Jimmy Buffet purchased his first ALL DAY Brennan worked at a restaurant, Brennan is among them. guitar), Brennan threw his heart which was just two blocks from his He spent his summers after he and soul into creating a place for own home; so the kitchen became graduated from high school in the both traditional and novel Creole ANNUAL AOH BANQUET his second home. At age 13 he Commander’s kitchen, but his dishes. With the success of the 7:00 P.M. began working with the celebrated father wanted him to go and work Palace Café, Brennan and his late chef Paul Prudhomme and with other people as well. So he partners then opened Dickie ASTOR CROWNE PLAZA began to learn the craft. When he went to Mexico City in 1980 to Brennan’s Steakhouse in the French 739 CANAL STREET was 14, the Brennan family split up work at Delmonico’s, which gave Quarter in 1998, the Bourbon their business holdings with him an appreciation for home even (Continued on page 2) PAGE 2 THE CRESCENT HARP

The BEGORRAH! AN IRISHMAN WHO CAN COOK! Crescent Harp Editor-in-Chief Let those words sink in because which they cannot excel. stereotypical characteristics of the John T. Browne that was not always the case. At And thus one has the example of Irish--generosity and a sense of Editorial Staff one time, when the words “Irish Richard Joseph “Dickie” Brennan civic duty. Combining those two John D. Fitzmorris III cuisine” were uttered, the usual Jr. and his father before him. Not critical tools with his cooking and Advertisement Editor reaction was a guffaw. There was content to just run the family bar in nose for business, Dickie Brennan Kevin M. McKay Sr. no concern back then that Irish the French Quarter, the elder set out to make the family name Ex-Officio James Kuhn men would ever challenge the Brennan began to expand his respected and admired throughout Raymond Donovan great chefs of the continent. Part business until his family had his native city. Mark Foley of it laid in stereotypes developed control of Commander’s Palace Four restaurants that have simply Martin Kearney because of the best cuisine Patrick J. Power the nature one can enjoy. ——————————- ARTICLE SUBMISSION VIA: of what Leadership in the [email protected] most Irish New Orleans Please submit all photos and Irish- Tourism and via .jpeg American Restaurant

ARTICLE men did for community. A DEADLINES: a living. total dedication to However, helping young November 15 there is chefs achieve in February 15 another the same manner May 15 stereotype as he did. A August 15 of the Irish profound sense of that the faith instilled in great chefs him by his mother ignored to and father mixed their Left. Richard J. Brennan Sr. holds his son, Brother Dickie Brennan and his daughter Lauren with a healthy --appropriately dressed for St. Patrick’s Day. Right. Brother Brennan with his father, detriment, Richard Brennan Sr. dose of Irish and that is heritage. And “Everybody has that the Irish are incredible and he was sending his chefs out finally, a great Irish understanding learners. There is more to the into the world--much the same of family that extends well-beyond always loved likes of Joyce and Shaw and Synge way Columcille sent his monks out his two children and encompasses and Yeats and Herbert than just the --to learn the art of cooking and all who call him friend. eating in letters they put to the paper. They bring back the lessons of the Richard Joseph “Dickie” Brennan represented the fact that the Irish, masters. Like the priests of Iona, Jr. is the inheritor of a great Ireland and the in the millennia since the first Celts young Dickie Brennan went and tradition. He breaks the worst crossed the Irish Sea and began developed his craft, bringing back stereotypes and reinforces the best family always establishing a civilization and since to his family restaurant the skills ones when it comes to being Irish. Palladius and Patrick brought the and insights necessary to continue He honors his family and heritage gathered around Gospel to Ireland and then spread the business and make it expand in a manner befitting someone we it throughout Europe, are the most even further. have the honor of calling Hibernian adaptable people in the world and Yet, Dickie Brennan had already of the Year. the table – have proven that there is nothing in gained from the example of his which was also this world they cannot learn and at father two more of the great DICKIE BRENNAN culinary school in Napa, California. Association, and the New Orleans where the stories (Continued from page 1) Brennan remains an active part Tourism and Marketing of the New Orleans community Association. were told.” House in 2002, and finally Tableau with his desire to leave the city And then, of course, comes his in 2013 alongside the Le Petit better than he found it. He has Irish heritage. Never a day went Theater. served as past chairman of the by that his father did not share his Now Dickie Brennan looks Downtown Development District love of being Irish and the fact that Maeve forward to transitioning his and on the boards of the National he was Irish to the core. The business to the next generation. Restaurant Association, the strength of his own family and As his father put him in the best Southern Food and Beverage sense of public service attests to Binchy position to succeed, he does the Association, Tulane Medical that Irish upbringing and honor of same now for his own family. His Center, Hibernia Homestead, the his Irish heritage. daughter Sara works in a bakery on Garden District Association, the the West Coast while his son Louisiana Film and Video Richard III currently attends Association, the New Restaurant VOLUME 8, ISSUE 2 PAGE 3

IN MEMORIAM MR. AUGUST “GUS” WINDHORST Brother of Elizabeth Rafferty, Ladies AOH

PRAYERS MISS MEGAN MCKAY Daughter of Brother Donald McKay Sr. and Sister of Brother Donald McKay Jr. BROTHER TOM MAHER BROTHER FRED KING Archbishop Hannan Division Archbishop Hannan Division MRS. MARGARET FRIDLEY Ladies AOH FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE IN OUR NATION FOR ALL THOSE THREATENED BY RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION FOR THE BLUE ROSES OF ST. MICHAEL’S SPECIAL SCHOOL THE HOMELESS OF NEW ORLEANS and ALL MILITARY MEN AND WOMEN SERVING OVERSEAS

IRISH HISTORY - THE SIEGE AT JADOTVILLE When it comes to UN peacekeeping as “A Company” and under the command of men, mostly bands of Luba warriors, but also missions, soldiers of the have often Commandant Pat Quinlan, had been sent to the many Belgian, French, and Rhodesian served as the vanguard. Reminiscent of their mining town, ostensibly to assist in the mercenaries armed with a mix of light and “Wild Geese” forbears, these Irish soldiers have protection of its citizens. The foreign minister heavy armament. They also had air support gone abroad to help bring stability or some of Belgium had called the UN secretary general, from a Fouga Magister trainer jet, fitted with semblance of it to the more troubled regions of reporting that Belgian settlers and the local underwing bombs and machine guns. For the the world. In 1961, soldiers of “A” Company, population were unprotected, and feared for most part, the Irish UN soldiers were armed 35th Battalion of the Irish Army found their safety. with only light personal weapons, a small themselves under siege in one of the remotest However, the locals of Jadotville hardly number of water-cooled Vickers machine guns, and most violent corners of the African welcomed the troops because of strong pro- and 60-mm mortars. The besieged Irish radioed continent. Katangese and anti-UN feeling. Two previous to their headquarters: “We will hold out until In September of that year, United Nations companies of ONUC peacekeepers--one our last bullet is spent. Could do with some Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld gave Swedish and one Irish--had been withdrawn whiskey.” permission for the UN forces to launch a from Jadotville in the days prior to the arrival of The Katangese attacked in waves of 600 or military offensive, code-named Operation Quinlan's force. It is not clear why the so, preceded by bombardment from 81 mm MORTHOR, against mercenary military units Katangese wanted to isolate the Irish UN mortars and a French 75 mm field gun. The serving the State of Katanga, which had seceded troops, although some commentators have Irish soldiers successfully defended against from Congo-Léopoldville in July 1960. suggested that the goal may have been to take successive waves of attackers from their According to its mandate, UN Operation in the the Irish as prisoners for leverage in defensive positions. The Irish Support Platoon Congo (ONUC) forces were to remain strictly negotiations with the UN. knocked out most of the Katangese mortar and impartial in the conflict. But, the Katangese The Katangese attacked while many of the artillery positions with accurate counter-battery political leadership believed the UN had broken Irish troops were attending an open air Mass. fire from 60-mm mortars. After withstanding its mandate and its forces were siding with their Expecting to take the men off guard, the first four days of repeated attacks, the Irish fired on opponent, the Congolese central government. attackers moved in rapidly; but an alert sentry, identified Katangese mortar and machine gun Soon after the start of MORTHOR, the Sergeant Billy Ready, alerted the company to positions with several hours of continuous and Katangese led a counterattack on an isolated the threat (Ready was wounded in the following concentrated fire from their own mortars and UN military unit based at the mining town of exchange of fire.), and a five-day battle ensued. machine guns. Jadotville, approximately 100 kilometers up A combined force of mercenaries, Belgian The Irish fire proved accurate and effective. country from the main UN base in settlers, and local Luba tribesmen attacked the Mercenary officers were reportedly observed Elizabethville City. 155 Irish UN troops, styled Irish with a force of between 3,000 to 5,000 (Continued on page 8)

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SIEGE AT JADOTVILLE The Irish were held as hostages for overtly acknowledge the battle. There may (Continued from page 3) approximately one month, in an effort to have been perceived shame that “A” Company extort terms of ceasefire that were had surrendered, or because of political and shooting native gendarmes to stem the rout embarrassing to the UN. The Katangese and strategic errors demonstrated at higher levels. caused in Katangese lines. The Katangese asked their mercenary allies bartered the Irish Quinlan eventually retired as a full colonel but Quinlan for a cease-fire, as their forces had soldiers for prisoners in the custody of the never served overseas again. The Irish officers been seriously diminished. By this time, their Congolese government of Joseph Kasa-Vubu. who fought at Jadotville found that it was best effective strength may have been reduced for one's career not to mention the battle. to 2,000 men. Quinlan agreed. The veterans of Jadotville were dissatisfied Meanwhile, 500 Irish and Swedish UN that the refused to troops based in Kamina as well as Indian acknowledge the battle and that there was an army Gurkhas made several attempts to implied black mark on the reputation of their relieve the besieged Irish soldiers, but the commander. Quinlan, who died in 1997, had supporting force of mercenaries, brought in his public reputation restored nine years after by General Moise Tshombe, Katanga's his death. The veterans of “A” Company premier and supported by Belgium, beat reportedly regarded him as an exceptional back these efforts. officer who had saved the lives of his men by A series of battles took place at a pinch ordering them to dig in, and who successfully point called the Lufira Bridge, which led his company against an overwhelming carried the Jadotville to Elizabethville enemy force. He was forced into an Highway across the Lufira River. The impossible situation by the apparent failings Katangese forces dug in here and brought of the UN leadership. Against the odds, he heavy and sustained ground and air fire Photograph courtesy of Irish Defence Force Archive had saved the lives of each of his men, in a onto the relief column, killing several Indian After being their release, the troops battle for which they had neither expected nor UN troops, injuring a number of Irish UN returned to their base in Elizabethville. Some planned. troops, and ultimately forcing the column off weeks later however “A” Company found itself John Gorman, a retired soldier who had the bridge. involved in active combat again, this time with been a 17-year-old private during the battle, “A” Company, 35th Battalion suffered five the support of Swedish UN troops. Eventually campaigned to have the Battle of Jadotville wounded in action during the six days of the fresh troops from Ireland (the 36th Battalion) recognized. In 2004, Irish Minister for siege. The Katangese, on the other hand, reinforced them until “A” Company rotated Defence Willie O'Dea agreed to hold a full suffered 300 were killed, including 30 out of the battle zone and were home in review of the battle. A Defence Forces inquiry mercenaries, and an indeterminate number Ireland that December. cleared Quinlan and “A” Company of wounded. Nonetheless, Quinlan had no access Until the early 21st century, the Irish state allegations of soldierly misconduct. A to resupply and reinforcements making a break did not give much recognition to the battle of commemorative stone recognizing the soldiers -out was virtually impossible. Jadotville. The term “Jadotville Jack” was of A Company was erected in the grounds of Even a mission to bring in water by air was sometimes used as a term of derision across the Custume Barracks in in 2005. A unsuccessful because contaminated containers Irish Defence Forces. After the incident, no commissioned portrait of Quinlan was installed (previously used to store gasoline) made the Irish soldier received any decoration for his in the Congo Room of the Irish Defence water undrinkable. Quinlan lacked any clear actions at Jadotville, although Quinlan Forces' UN School. direction or communication from his recommended a number of his men for the Since then, the Siege at Jadotville has superiors, and the Katangese gradually Military Medal for Gallantry (MMG), Ireland's become a subject for historians and infringed on the cease-fire agreement to highest award for military valor. In 2016, the filmmakers. Declan Power's history, The Siege undermine “A” Company's position. In the Irish government awarded a Presidential Unit at Jadotville: The Irish Army's Forgotten Battle end, with his position untenable, without any Citation to A Company, the first in the State's (2005), was adapted as the film, The Siege of clear orders or promise of assistance, having history. Jadotville (2016) with a cast that includes Jamie run out of ammunition and food, and low on Although “A” Company, 35th Battalion had Dornan (of 50 Shades fame) and Mark Strong, water, Quinlan accepted the second offer to tactically defeated a larger enemy force at and the movie had a well received premier at surrender to the Katangese. Jadotville, the Irish Defence Forces did not the 2016 Galway Film Festival.