In October 1975, Dutch businessman Tiede Herrema (21 April 1921 – 24 April 2020) was kidnapped by the

Provisional IRA The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish re ...

Castletroy Castletroy (, meaning O'Troy's Landing or O'Troy's Callow) is a suburb of Limerick, Ireland. The town was named after Castle Troy also known as The Black Castle, which is located on the southern bank of the River Shannon, roughly 2km East of th ...

, near Limerick. This triggered a large police investigation and a two week siege, after which Herrema was released unharmed.

Biography

Tiede Herrema was born in

Zuilen Zuilen is a district in the Northwest section of the Dutch city of Utrecht. Zuilen is bordered by the train line and the river Vecht, the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal, the street Marnixlaan, and the city borders at the north. The neighborhood Eli ...

(then a municipality, today part of

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...

) in 1921. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, he was arrested by Nazis because he was in the Dutch resistance, and was sent to a concentration camp in Poland. After being liberated by Soviet forces, he walked 500 km to American lines. In the 1970s, Herrema ran a wire factory, Ferenka, in the city of

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2 ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. At the time, this was the city's biggest employer, with approximately 1,400 workers.

Kidnapping and rescue

On the morning of 3 October 1975, having just left his home in Castletroy near Limerick, Herrema was abducted by

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reu ...

members Eddie Gallagher and Marion Coyle. The kidnappers demanded the release of three IRA prisoners, including

Rose Dugdale Bridget Rose Dugdale (born 1941), better known as Rose Dugdale, is a former debutante who rebelled against her wealthy upbringing, becoming a volunteer in the militant Irish republican organisation, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA). ...

. After a massive security operation, the kidnappers were eventually traced on 21 October 1975 to a house in

Monasterevin Monasterevin (), also Monasterevan, and Mevin is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. The town lies on the River Barrow and the Barrowline, a canal branch of the Grand Canal. The population was 4,246 at the 2016 Census. Location and Access Si ...

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the count ...

. After a further two-week-long siege, Herrema was released, shaken, but unharmed. He left Ireland soon after.

Aftermath

He eventually returned to Ireland to present an episode of '' Saturday Live'' in 1987. He and his wife Elizabeth were made honorary Irish citizens in 1975, and he was made a Freeman of the city of Limerick. In 2005, he donated his personal papers to the

University of Limerick The University of Limerick (UL) ( ga, Ollscoil Luimnigh) is a public research university institution in Limerick, Ireland. Founded in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it became a university in 1989 in accordance w ...

. Herrema died in April 2020, only two days after his wife's death and less than a week after his 99th birthday.

References

External links

1975: IRA kidnappers release industrialist
— BBC News retrospective
''Kidnapped - The Herrema Diaries''
2005 Interview with Tiede Herrema from the

RTÉ Radio RTÉ Radio is a division of the Irish national broadcasting organisation Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Radio broadcasts four analogue channels and five digital channels nationwide. Founded in January 1926 as 2RN, the first broadcaster in t ...

Documentary On One The ''RTÉ Documentary on One'', or ''Doc on One'', is an anthology documentary radio series broadcast by Irish public service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann's Radio 1 Radio 1 or Radio One most commonly refers to: *BBC Radio 1, a musi ...

'' series (RealAudio) {{DEFAULTSORT:Herrema, Tiede 1970s missing person cases Formerly missing people History of County Limerick Kidnappings in the Republic of Ireland Missing person cases in Ireland Provisional Irish Republican Army actions

Biography

Kidnapping and rescue

Aftermath

See also

References

External links