Kidnapped: Twelve true life Irish hostages

by A.J. Davidson

Kidnapping is a particularly heartless crime. Not only is the victim held in conditions of physical and psychological stress, his or her family suffer the trauma of knowing that their loved one has been taken by force and that they are powerless to help.

A.J. Davidson's Kidnapped is an account of twelve Irish kidnappings of the last thirty years. It starts in 1972 with the family of Noel Curran, held hostage by the Littlejohn brothers who were MI6 agents, leading to Ireland's largest bank robbery. It then tells of Thomas Niedermeyer, a German industrialist in Belfast kidnapped and murdered by the IRA. In the Republic, the case of Dr Tiede Herrema in 1975 was one of the most sensational criminal episodes in the history of the state. Other famous names recalled in Kidnapped are Don Tidey, Jennifer Guinness, Ben Dunne and Brian Keenan. Not to mention Shergar, the 1982 Epsom Derby winner for whom a ransom of 2 million Irish punts was demanded. This contrasts with ponies from Fossett's circus for whom ransom demands of Euro200 are par for the course.

210 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

AJ Davidson is a traditionally published author and playwright, who, in Spring 2010, made the switch to Indie. He is keen to explore the potential of a rapidly changing publishing world, and is enjoying the closer contact with his readers that e-books afford. Currently writing his first horror story.

AJ has a degree in Social Anthropology. Married for 38 years, he has two children, a Beagle called Bruce, and Dusty, a very mean cat.

Not one for staying long in the same place, AJ has lived in many countries across several continents. He has worked as a pea washer, crane-driver, restaurateur and scriptwriter.

A member of the ITW.