The documentary Ransom ‘79 is a startling reminder of what a mad, bad, and dangerous place Ireland was in the Seventies
In the most belated scoop of his career, Charlie Bird broke the news of a ransom plot 42 years after it happened. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw
For those of us who lived through the period concerned, Ransom ‘79 is a startling reminder of what a mad, bad, and dangerous place Ireland was back then. For a younger generation, meanwhile, it may be a useful introduction to the theme of how far the country has come since, obvious faults and all.On the case – Tim Fanning on Armagh detective James McParland and his battles with the Molly Maguires
During a five-month-long intrigue that followed this initial demand, the usually sedate surroundings of The Irish Times’s back page became central to the drama. The gang had demanded that, as a dry run for the cash handover, the State should first park a white Mini with a certain number plate in front of the Gresham.
The chase may have been slow but it was tension-filled. The lead driver, a long-haired undercover detective whose identity still needs to be disguised, had a Smith-and-Wesson revolver strapped to his leg and a back-up “lady’s gun” in his boxer shorts.
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