The International Centre for Moral Injury at Durham University is holding a webinar on 'Moral injury and families' on Monday, 29th January online.
In this webinar, the centre will highlight and lift up the ways that moral injury affects the families of military members – the people closest to those who experience the struggles of moral injury in the most intimate family dynamics.
For this conversation attendees will be joined by Leo Quinlan, Marty O'Connor and Michael Lyons:
Leo Quinlan is a former Commandant in the Irish Army and son of Colonel Pat Quinlan who, as a Commandant, led the Irish troops in the siege of Jadotville in the Congo in 1961. The battle lasted for five days before the Irish company – under the terms of a ceasefire – became prisoners of war. For many years the battle was not publicly acknowledged in Ireland as anything triggering an investigation into the decision-making of the higher UN and military authorities risked tarnishing the reputation of the UN and the Irish Army. Leo was 16 at the time of the events and, after a career in the Irish Army himself, he went on to co-author the book Heroes of Jadotville (The Soldiers' Story) and speak to international audiences about the battle and about moral injury. Leo, who has served with many of the Jadotville veterans and is close to many of their families, will speak about the effects of moral injury on the veterans and their families – and the trans-generational effect it continues to have on these families.
Marty O'Connor is an Irish mental health advocate now based in Australia. Marty grew up on an army base in Ireland and his father Tom O'Connor served in the battle of Jadotville. Marty identifies the cause as moral injury and speaks openly about the effect moral injury had on his family and what has brought healing, providing a voice to people around the world who have been affected by moral injury.
Michael Lyons served in the Irish Army from 1960 to 1966 and later was a hospital and hospice lay chaplain for 10 years. He was also a founding member of the Irish Support Agency (Sydney Irish Welfare Bureau) and a founding director of Ireland Australia International Inc. (Welfare Program). With experience in the field of drug and alcohol abuse phone counselling and suicide prevention, he is now a welfare officer for New South Wales Returned Services League.
The discussion will be led by Brian Powers, Executive Director of the ICMI at Durham University.
Register here.