James J. Quinn (1918–1982) was a

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

in the

Irish Army The Irish Army, known simply as the Army ( ga, an tArm), is the land component of the Defence Forces of Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. The Ar ...

, and recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal as Force Commander for

UNFICYP The United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) is a United Nations peacekeeping force that was established under United Nations Security Council Resolution 186 in 1964 to prevent a recurrence of fighting following intercommunal violen ...

forces. Born in

Tipperary Tipperary is the name of: Places *County Tipperary, a county in Ireland **North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh **South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel *Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...

in 1918, he joined the Irish Army as an officer cadet in 1938, and was commissioned in 1939. He served in the infantry throughout The Emergency. In 1950 he attended the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

's Staff College in Camberley. He served subsequently as instructor in Irish Military College, being promoted Colonel in 1959. In that year he was appointed CO of the Irish Army's Sixth Brigade. He served with the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

in the Congo (

ONUC The United Nations Operation in the Congo (french: Opération des Nations Unies au Congo, abbreviated to ONUC) was a United Nations peacekeeping force deployed in the Republic of the Congo in 1960 in response to the Congo Crisis. ONUC was the ...

) from 1961 to 1962. He saw further service with the United Nations in Cyprus (UNFICYP) in 1964. Quinn was appointed GOC Curragh Command 1968 to 1972, and as GOC Eastern Command 1972 to 1976. He was appointed Assistant Chief of Staff in 1976. Later that year he was promoted to Major General and appointed commander of UN Forces in Cyprus (

), in which capacity he served until 1981. He was the first Irish Army general to command British troops, since Britain provided a battalion as its contribution to UNFICYP. Earlier, an Irish army battalion had served in UNFICYP when the force commander (Brigadier A.J. Wilson) was a British general. Returning to Ireland that year, he was awarded the Irish Distinguished Service Medal. He retired from the Irish Army in 1982, and died later that year.

Sources

An Cosantóir ''An Cosantóir'' (; meaning "The Defender") is the official magazine of the Irish Defence Forces. It was originally established in December 1940 by Colonel Michael Joe Costello as a means of disseminating training material among the Local Secu ...

, the Irish Defence Journal * A History of the Irish Army, John Duggan (1991) *Irish Defence Forces Handbook (1988) 1982 deaths 1918 births Military personnel from County Tipperary Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Irish Army generals People from County Tipperary Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (Ireland) {{Ireland-mil-bio-stub