Herrema recalls 1975 kidnap drama

DR Tiede Herrema, who was kidnapped by IRA gang members Eddie Gallagher and Marion Coyle 30 years ago, said yesterday he was keeping secret what was said when he met them many years later.

Dr Herrema was head of the Dutch-owned Ferenka factory in Limerick when he was kidnapped by Gallagher and Coyle on October 3, 1975, after he left his home in Castletroy.

Accompanied by his wife, Elizabeth, he returned to Limerick yesterday to present the University of Limerick with his private documents on the kidnapping.

Among those present were former Garda Commissioner Larry Wrenn, responsible for the safe release of Dr Herrema and the arrest of Coyle and Gallagher.

Then Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Garret FitzGerald, who later became Taoiseach, was also present.

Dr Herrema was released after 27 days when he and his captors were traced to a house in Monasterevin, Co Kildare. Gallagher and Coyle surrendered after a two-week garda siege. They were sentenced to 25 years and 20 years respectively.

Dr Herrema said Gallagher and Coyle were young people who did something stupid.

“I know they had their ideals, but they failed. And I know they are doing well at the moment,” he said.

Asked if he had any contact with them in recent years he said: “I met them face to face and I don’t comment any more on that.”

Dr Herrema believes the sentences were too long.

He added: “They were so young, younger than my eldest child at the time. Eddie Gallagher was sentenced to 25 years. Just imagine a young man of 20 going to jail for 25 years. That is terrible. It was the same with Marion Coyle who got a little bit less, 20 years.”

He said he feared for his life during his captivity.

Being a psychologist, he said he knew it was very important to build a relationship with his captors.

He said: “I started to talk to Eddie Gallagher and I made some agreements with him, that’s part how I survived.”

Dr Roger Downer, president of UL, said the events of 30 years ago were a watershed in Irish history.

Dr Garret FitzGerald said if the kidnapping had not been successfully resolved, Ireland’s industrial development could have been badly damaged. He said the then government and their families were under threat at the time.

Dr Herrema, who is now 84, plays golf and jogs, said the one item he was not handing over to UL was the bullet taken from the gun put to his head during the siege. That stays at his home in Arnham.