Irish History Lecture: ‘The Kidnapping – A hostage, a desperate manhunt and a bloody rescue that shocked Ireland’

About The Book “The Kidnapping” 

Riveting . . . a triumph . . . intertwining personal narratives with wider themes of remembrance, loss, courage and blame’ Gary Murphy, Irish Examiner

November 1983. Early morning in suburban south Dublin. Businessman Don Tidey is snatched from his car and the IRA has its latest kidnap victim. Weeks later he is tracked down to an isolated Leitrim wood, but in saving Tidey’s life a recruit garda and a soldier lose theirs.

The Kidnapping is a brilliantly reported account of this landmark event by two accomplished journalists and Leitrim natives. Delving deep, they provide a chilling account of the lead-up to Tidey’s abduction, the massive manhunt that followed, his bloody rescue, the botched attempts to capture his abductors and the devastating fall-out – personal and national – that followed.

At the heart of The Kidnapping revealing interviews with Don Tidey – speaking about his experience in detail for the first time – and with the families of Garda Gary Sheehan and Private Patrick Kelly, provide a startling and moving testimony of the lasting impact of these traumatic events. It is both a gripping read and one that raises profound questions for today’s Ireland.
‘Vividly written, deeply insightful, extremely timely’ Business Post

What People and The Press say about “The Kidnapping”..

‘A fascinating read . . . beyond that, it’s an important document’ Mick Clifford, The Mick Clifford Podcast

‘A harrowing story . . . [but] an enjoyable book’ Irish Mail on Sunday

‘An important reminder of our imperfect, contentious past’ Tommy Gorman, Irish Times

‘Vivid . . . [shows] a deep understanding . . . insightful and emotional’ Sunday Independent

‘A major page-turner . . . fascinating’ Nicola Tallant, Crime World podcast

Tommy Conlon and Ronan McGreevy will do a book signing following this Lecture.

“The Kidnapping” is published by Penguin. Copies are available to buy in advance of this Lecture from Penguin Books or Amazon.  There will be books for sale here at the. ICC on the night, but we recommend that you buy a copy in advance,  in case they sell out quickly.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Tommy Conlon

Tommy Conlon is a sportswriter with the Sunday Independent and Irish Times. He has co-authored books with some of Ireland’s most successful sportsmen, including Ronnie Whelan, John ‘Bull’ Hayes, and Keith Earls, whose autobiography won the “Sports Book of the Year” at the 2021 An Post Irish Book Awards. Tommy is a native of Ballinamore, County Leitrim.

Ronan McGreevy

Ronan McGreevy is a news reporter and videographer with the Irish Times . He is the author of the book Wherever the Firing Line Extends: Ireland and the Western Front . He was made a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government for his work on remembrance and the First World War. He is the editor of Centenary: Ireland Remembers 1916, the official State book recalling the commemorations of 2016, and ‘Was It for This? Reflections on the Easter Rising’, an anthology of commentary on the Easter Rising (2016). He is also the presenter of the full-length First World War documentary United Ireland: How Nationalists and Unionists Fought Together in Flanders, which was shortlisted for best film at the Imperial War Museum’s short film competition in 2018. His most recent book is Great Hatred: The Assassination of Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson MP is currently on Ireland’s best sellers list; the book had its UK launch here at the Irish Cultural Centre in My 2023.