Former Dundalk soldier keeps a promise to an Irish hero

In May 2025 I returned to a country I knew as East Timor. I had served there as a cook with the Army Ranger Wing in 2000. Since independence it is now called ‘Timor-Leste’.

I was happily surprised at the improvement 25 years on, from a war-torn place of dereliction, smoke and fear to five-star hotels, clean air and safe streets.

I was accompanied on my trip by Vivienne Watters, from Dundalk.

The purpose of my journey was to keep a promise to a great man named Paddy Kenneally.

Paddy was an Irishman in the Australian Army who fought against the Japanese in Timor during World War 2. After the war he helped politically campaign for East Timor’s independence in Australia, and returned to Timor as a spy helping Falintil resistance fighters against the Indonesian occupiers.

Paddy travelled to our Irish base in Taroman in 2000, and we became friends,. He asked me to return to East Timor, to not let he or his WW2 unit – known as ‘Sparrow Force’- ever be forgotten, I promised Paddy I would do my best, and 25 years later I returned to honour my promise.

I was attached to a platoon of Army Ranger Wing deployed to East Timor in early 2000. After a positive vote for independence in 1999 by the East Timorese from Indonesia, the Indonesian occupiers responded with terror and destruction. We were there to prevent the violence, stabilise the situation and contribute to East Timor being free.

Our base was on a mountainside overlooking a jungle below; the village nearby was called ‘Taroman’.

The first time I saw Paddy he wore a straw hat and a green chequered shirt, and I was struck by how unusual it was to see someone in his 80s in this theatre of operations, so agile and confident. I offered him a cup of Irish tea; we sat down together and chatted. Through his stories I knew Paddy considered East Timor’s struggles against colonial powers as similar to Ireland's history.

The Rangers treated Paddy like royalty, and our Captain even gave up his own bed so Paddy could sleep comfortably, He was shown great respect.

Soldiers such as Ray Goggins, Robert Stafford and Ger Reidy – who later starred on the RTE show ‘Ultimate Hell Week’ - all deferred to the elder warrior in the room.

Paddy told us about his time with the Sparrow Force regiment and how he’d fought against the Japanese in a guerilla type war effort during WW2, and how the Australians had mistakenly thought all of its forces had been captured by the Japanese. The 2/2nd Independent Company (which Paddy was part of) had in actual fact fought on, evading capture and causing chaos with the help of the local population.

During the Indonesian occupation, Paddy would travel to East Timor on his Irish passport and returned to Australia with intelligence from the resistance movement (Falintil) smuggled inside his shoes. He was arrested and interrogated a several times by the Indonesians.

A lifelong friendship was formed between Paddy and I. Over the years, we wrote letters and had phone calls. Before he died, he made me promise not to let the story of Sparrow Force and his part in it be forgotten, and to inform an Irish audience about that story, He greatly hoped that I would return myself some day.

Paddy died aged 93 in 2009. In tribute, President Ramos-Horta of Timor-Leste said: "What an amazing man God gave us in Paddy; a man of courage, serenity, compassion, loyalty and joy. I sit here in a free and independent Timor-Leste and think how blessed we are to have had such great friends like Paddy Kenneally."

Tom Hyland, Irish East Timor solidarity leader, called Paddy “a noble warrior who proved that an individual can make a difference.”

For years, I wondered how best to keep that promise to Paddy, what form it should take precisely. I eventually decided I would return with Vivienne to Timor-Leste (formerly East Timor) and include self-care in the process.

‘Timor Awakening’ is an Australian charity set up to care for military veterans by Major Michael Stone (retired Australian army).

They provide participants with a holistic outdoor adventure, counselling and an opportunity to work manually improving school facilities in a deprived area of Timor-Leste for children living in poverty.

Vivienne and I applied and were accepted to join their ‘TA’ 31st group excursion to Timor-Leste.

Our week consisted of early morning group therapy, physical activity and different trips around Timor-Leste. We climbed Mount Ramelau to catch the sunrise and had a group prayer at the summit. We visited Sparrow Force war sites and swam in remote lagoons. Throughout, we kept military voice procedure within our convoy across mountainous terrains above jungles.

A certain rank structure was apparent still with veterans seamlessly slotting in with their old roles and responsibilities only channelled now into a charitable role.

We all volunteered for manual work renovating a poor school in the village of Same, where I took charge of cooking school meals, ably assisted by Vivienne and others. A visit to Casa Vida, a refuge for child victims of sex abuse tugged our heart strings.

We met Falintil resistance fighters who are old men now; they honoured us by laying a traditional scarf over our heads.
A dawn service for ANZAC (Australian & New Zealand) day in Dili to remember the fallen dead from wars was held.

I represented the Michael McNeela Branch, Aiken Barrack of O.N.E (Organisation of National Ex-Servicemen) and later had a personal audience with the Nobel prize winning laureate President Ramos-Horta.

Meeting the President and hearing his values on how to forgive and move forward was inspiring. I felt Paddy would have been proud of the new nations advancements that he campaigned so hard to achieve.

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My adventure to Timor-Leste taught me the value of forgiveness, the tough journey from darkness into light, and how veteran soldiers can find their old selves through charitable works with like minded veterans.

Before I set off on this adventure, I had typed up one of Paddy’s 30-page handwritten letters and, along with other memorabilia deposited them in the Irish Military History Museum in Rathmines, Dublin.

When I travelled to Sparrow Force House in Dili, I ensured they also got a copy and I told all I met there about Paddy Kenneally.

In essence, I have written this article to bring greater awareness to Sparrow Force and to keep my promise to an old man in a far away jungle.

Paddy Kennealy, the great man from Cork,would be very proud of all that has since been achieved in pursuit of Timor-Leste’s prosperity and peace.