Monasterevin Siege
On 3 October 1975 Coyle and another IRA member, Eddie Gallagher, kidnapped industrialist Tiede Herrema near his home in Castletroy, a suburb of Limerick. They were traced to a house in Monasterevin, County Kildare, and a two week siege began. Coyle and Gallagher demanded the release of three republican prisoners, including Rose Dugdale, in return for the release of Herrema, but the authorities refused to grant any concessions. The siege ended on 7 November when Herrema was released, and Coyle and Gallagher were arrested. The kidnapping was the longest in Irish history.
In March 1976 Coyle was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the abduction, while Gallagher received a 20 year sentence. Herrema has stated he believes the sentences were too long, describing Coyle and Gallagher as young people who did something stupid. Coyle was released from prison in 1985, and Gallagher in 1990.
Read more about this topic: Marion Coyle
Famous quotes containing the word siege:
“One likes people much better when they’re battered down by a prodigious siege of misfortune than when they triumph.”
—Virginia Woolf (1882–1941)