Identity Statement

Reference Code: P/22
Title: Tiede Herrema Archive
Dates: 1970-2005
Extent: 15 Boxes

Content & Structure

Dr Tiede Herrema (b. 1921 in Utrecht, Holland) was appointed managing director of Ferenka Ltd. in Limerick in 1973. On the morning of 3 October 1975, he was abducted on his way to work by IRA leader Eddie Gallagher and his accomplices Marion Coyle, Brian McGowan and John Vincent Walsh. The objective of the abduction was to secure the release of three republican prisoners, including Dr Rose Dugdale, by whom Gallagher had a son. Herrema's status as manager of a large multi-national corporation was hoped to bring international pressure on the government to yield to the demands. For the next two and a half weeks, Herrema and his captors moved from location to location, and their whereabouts remained unknown until 21 October, when Herrema, Gallagher and Coyle were traced to a house in St Evin's Park, Monasterevin, County Kildare. On the evening of 7 November, after prolonged negotiations directed by Chief Superintendent Laurence Wren, the kidnappers surrendered and Herrema was released after 36 days in captivity. The abduction and the trials that followed caused an international media storm, which threw Herrema into the public arena for the rest of his life.

The material contains correspondence, press cuttings, press releases, reports, TV and radio broadcasts and photographs which reconstruct in considerable detail the events surrounding Herrema's kidnapping and release, and the subsequent trials of his abductors. Included among these items are police surveillance tapes recorded during the siege at Monasterevin, and interior photographs of the house in which Herrema was held captive. Also included in the collection are correspondence, press cuttings, speeches, reports, photographs and audio-visual material which illustrate Herrema's career prior to and following his kidnapping, and his personal interests in later life. These items, in particular the considerable amount of material relating to his appearance in the media, reflect the dramatic way in which the kidnapping changed the course of Herrema's life.

Conditions of Access & Use

Access: Available by appointment
Finding Aid: Descriptive List (click on link attached)

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