64 - Hostage at Derrada Woods: The story of Don Tidey

Mens Rea: A true crime podcast

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True Crime, Society & Culture

4.7 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 29 March 2020

⏱️ 76 minutes

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Summary

In the early 1980s, there was a series of kidnap-for-ransom crimes committed in the Republic by the Provisional IRA in order to raise funds to finance their organisation and its terrorist operations here and in the UK. One of the victims of these abductions was prominent businessman, Don Tidey, and Englishman who was the senior executive of the Quinnsworth group of supermarkets. Tidey was held for 23 days in Derrada wood, Co Leitrim. He as rescued by the gardai and the army, but a garda probationer and an army private were killed during the operation. Though a number of people were charged in relation to the kidnap, no one has ever been charged in relation to the two killings. ******** Thanks to our sponsors for today’s episode: Get 10% off your first three months of vitamins at ritual.com/mens Sign up for professional online counselling at betterhelp.com/mens and get 10% off your first month! Try the casual mobile puzzle game Best Fiends today! Find it on the Apple App store and Google Play! ******** Find us on Facebook or Twitter! With thanks to our supporters on Patreon! Donate today to get access to bonus and ad-free episodes! ******** Theme Music: Quinn’s Song: The Dance Begins Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Additional Music: Allemande (Sting) by Wahneta Meixsell. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ ******** Sources: Offences Against the State Act, 1939. Find it here: http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1939/act/13/enacted/en/print#sec36 Vannini, Marco & Detotto, Claudio & Mccannon, Bryan.. “Ransom Kidnapping.” in (eds) Jurgen Georg Backhaus Encyclopedia of Law and Economics (Springer, 2015) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273574256_Ransom_Kidnapping Reporting from Peter Murtagh, Niall Kiely and Jim Cusack for The Irish Times Jim Cusack and Basil Miller, “Maze escapers and gun shipment seized by Dutch” in The Irish Times (17 January 1986) p. 1. “Go ahead given for kidnap trial” from BBC NEWS http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/6161347.stm (8 December 2006) “Republican will face kidnap trial” from BBC NEWS http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4782270.stm (7 March 2006) Vivion Kilfeather, “Supreme Court clears way for McFarlene kidnap trial” in The Irish Examiner (6 March 2008) https://archive.is/20120616060609/http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2008/03/06/story57024.asp#selection-1701.1-1701.348 “McFarlene launches second judicial review” from RTE.ie https://www.rte.ie/news/2006/0515/76265-mcfarlaneb/ (15 May 2006) “McFarlene trial opens today” from TodayFM.com https://web.archive.org/web/20110717065409/http://news.todayfm.com/story.asp?sid=15262 (11 June 2008) “Maze escaper kidnap case collapse” from BBC NEWS http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7475724.stm (26 June 2008) “Maze escapee Bik McFarlene wins Irish government damages” from BBC NEWS https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-11259072 (10 September 2010) “IRA may have got money from insurance firm” in The Irish Times (25 February 1985) p. 8. Ella Shanahan, “Noonan calls for ban on kidnap insurance” in The Irish Times (19 July 1985) p. 1. Padraig Yeates, “Swiss bank ordered to disclose IRA fund details” in The Irish Times (21 November 1985) p. 1. Sean Flynn, “Store group 'paid £2m to IRA'” in The Irish Times (2 December 1985) p 8. Conor O'Clery, “No evidence on Tidey extortion allegation – Scott” in The Irish Times (16 December 1985) p. 6. Conor O'Clery, “No proof of IRA payment, MP told” in The Irish Times (20 December 1985) p. 9. Jim Cusack, “Paying off the IRA not to kill and kidnap” in The Irish Times ( 16 March 1990) p. 13. Niall Kiely, “No official knowledge of ransom pay-out” in The Irish Times (20 February 1985) p. 9. Ireland's Most Shocking Crimes – The Kidnapping of Don Tidey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iP1hpT01nrI Scannal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y294tqcSVQk Today Tonight 16 Dec 1983 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKY-BM3MG6U Wikis: John Joe McGirl https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Joe_McGirl Special Criminal Court https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Criminal_Court Brendan McFarlene https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brendan_McFarlane For a full list of sources, please see our website www.mensreapod.com

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to the mens rea podcast and this is the story of the kidnap of Don Tidy. The Oh, Kidnapping and abductions for ransom are not something that you would associate with Ireland in general.
0:49.0	Italy with the mafia or the cartels in South America would perhaps be your first thoughts.
0:56.1	But throughout the early 1980s there were a series of kidnappings for ransom in the Republic.
1:04.6	The first in what became a series of abductions or attempted abductions was the kidnapping
1:10.4	of Bernard Dunn, the joint managing director of Dunn Stores, who was taken from
1:16.2	County Loud by armed men at a staged traffic accident.
1:21.1	He was released without harm on the 23rd of October 1982 after a ransom was paid, believed to be in the region of 300,000 pounds.
1:32.0	In November of 1982, two daughters of bank managers were taken and again a ransom was demanded. The two girls were
1:42.3	eventually released, but there was no was demanded for this was ever
1:43.0	eventually released but there was no confirmation
1:46.0	as to whether the 50,000 demanded for this was ever paid over.
1:51.0	On the 21st of March 1983, the wife of publisher Albert Follens was held hostage at their home in
1:59.6	Enniskary County Wicklow.
2:01.9	Ten thousand pounds was reportedly paid for her release.
2:06.8	The following month, the wife and daughter of a businessman who imported Steel Peter
2:12.0	Sims were held hostage in their home.
2:15.0	Ten thousand pounds was paid for their release the following morning.
2:20.0	In June 1983, Elise Jones, the wife of Managing Director of Allied Curriers, was abducted
2:27.6	and taken to a house in St Margaret's, North County Dublin.
2:31.3	Gardie managed to rescue her within a few hours, but her captors all escaped.
2:37.2	On the August Bank Holiday Weekend, 1983 Richard Hill, who had links to the INLA was abducted from his holiday home in Lala County
2:48.4	Mayo along with his stepdaughter. They were rescued two weeks later.
	...

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