In October 1975, Dutch businessman Tiede Herrema (21 April 1921 – 24 April 2020) was kidnapped by the Provisional IRA in Castletroy, near Limerick. This triggered a large Garda investigation and a two-week siege, after which Herrema was released unharmed.
Biography Tiede Herrema was born in Zuilen (then a municipality, today part of Utrecht) in 1921. During World War II, he was arrested by Nazis because he was in the Dutch resistance, and was sent to the Ratibor forced labour 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, Ireland. 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 members Eddie Gallagher and Marion Coyle. The kidnappers demanded the release of three IRA prisoners, including Rose Dugdale.
After a massive security operation, the kidnappers were eventually traced on 21 October 1975 to a house in Monasterevin, County Kildare. 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. Herrema died in April 2020, 5 days after his wife's death and 3 days after his 99th birthday.
See also List of kidnappings: 1950–1979 List of solved missing person cases: 1950–1999
References
External links 1975: IRA kidnappers release industrialist — BBC News retrospective Kidnapped - The Herrema Diaries 2005 Interview with Tiede Herrema from the RTÉ Radio Documentary On One series (RealAudio)