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Heiress, Rebel, Vigilante, Bomber: The Extraordinary Life of Rose Dugdale
'Fascinating . . . O'Driscoll's research is impressive' Ben Macintyre, The Times
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The story behind the hit movie Baltimore, starring Imogen Poots.
The astonishing story of the English heiress who devoted her life to the IRA.
She grew up in a Chelsea townhouse and on a Devon estate.
She was presented to the Queen at Buckingham Palace as a debutante in 1958.
She trained at Oxford as an academic economist and had a love affair with a female professor (who was on the rebound from Iris Murdoch).
At thirty, she commenced giving her inheritance away to the poor.
In 1972, the deadliest year of the Northern Irish Troubles, she travelled to Ireland and joined the IRA.
Sean O'Driscoll's Heiress, Rebel, Vigilante, Bomber tells the astonishing story of Rose Dugdale, who went on to become a committed terrorist, participating in a major art heist and a bombing raid on a police and army barracks; who kept a pregnancy secret for nine months in prison and gave birth there; and who ended up at the heart of the IRA's bomb-making operation during its deadly final spasms in the 1990s. Heiress, Rebel, Vigilante, Bomber is both the page-turning biography of a remarkable woman and a groundbreaking account of the inner workings of a terrorist organization.
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'It would be hard to overstate how good this book is . . . a fantastic read' Sunday Independent
'Superb . . . an even-handed and thrilling gallop through [Dugdale's] improbable life' Daily Telegraph
'Excellent' Michael McDowell, Irish Times
'Possibly the most extraordinary book you'll read this year' Irish Examiner
'Jaw-dropping' Joe Duffy
'Well-researched' Irish Times
_____
The story behind the hit movie Baltimore, starring Imogen Poots.
The astonishing story of the English heiress who devoted her life to the IRA.
She grew up in a Chelsea townhouse and on a Devon estate.
She was presented to the Queen at Buckingham Palace as a debutante in 1958.
She trained at Oxford as an academic economist and had a love affair with a female professor (who was on the rebound from Iris Murdoch).
At thirty, she commenced giving her inheritance away to the poor.
In 1972, the deadliest year of the Northern Irish Troubles, she travelled to Ireland and joined the IRA.
Sean O'Driscoll's Heiress, Rebel, Vigilante, Bomber tells the astonishing story of Rose Dugdale, who went on to become a committed terrorist, participating in a major art heist and a bombing raid on a police and army barracks; who kept a pregnancy secret for nine months in prison and gave birth there; and who ended up at the heart of the IRA's bomb-making operation during its deadly final spasms in the 1990s. Heiress, Rebel, Vigilante, Bomber is both the page-turning biography of a remarkable woman and a groundbreaking account of the inner workings of a terrorist organization.
_____
'It would be hard to overstate how good this book is . . . a fantastic read' Sunday Independent
'Superb . . . an even-handed and thrilling gallop through [Dugdale's] improbable life' Daily Telegraph
'Excellent' Michael McDowell, Irish Times
'Possibly the most extraordinary book you'll read this year' Irish Examiner
'Jaw-dropping' Joe Duffy
'Well-researched' Irish Times
361 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 16, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
August 24, 2023
I knew nothing about Rose Dugdale when I picked up this book, but she was all of the things listed in the title. This is a fascinating telling of a strange and interesting tale.
July 27, 2024
Rose Dugdale was one of those big, exuberant, posh girls with an infectious horsey grin and an impeccable upper class family pedigree. She could have married a stockbroker and lived the refined dinner party lifestyle of a wealthy heiress; instead she became a militant Irish republican streetfighter. The story of this incomprehensible transformation from English Rose to Irish Rebel is the subject of this very readable and well researched book by Sean O’Driscoll.
It’s clear from the outset that Dugdale was no armchair revolutionary. After renouncing her former life and giving away most of her inheritance she became involved in arms smuggling, robbery, hijacking, bombing, kidnapping and weapons production before inevitably landing in jail. O’Driscoll charts these events diligently but offers little analysis leaving it to his readers to make sense of why anyone would exchange such a comfortable existence for the brutality and hardship of life in an underground army. In a rare moment of reflection a seemingly baffled O’Driscoll confesses that he can find “no event or specific family dynamic that explains why Rose took such a different path.”
Dugdale was certainly unusual but not unique. Similar individuals could be found in other urban guerrilla outfits of the time like the Baader-Meinhof, Red Brigades and ETA. Much of the rhetoric of the era may sound unconvincing now, but back then Dugdale seems to have swallowed the doctrine of revolutionary class war hook, line and sinker. She concluded that the conflict in Ireland was part of the front-line in the class struggle (a questionable interpretation even in purely Marxist terms) and this determined the course of her life thereafter. Typical of those who become fixated on changing the world she often failed to see what was happening right under her nose. She spent a considerable amount of time on the streets of Dublin battling drug dealers (at considerable personal risk) yet failed to prevent her own son becoming one himself.
Ironically for a Marxist, Dugdale’s whole life seems to have been built on a foundation of irreconcilable contradictions and she left behind a problematic legacy. Despite bringing considerable suffering upon herself, family and friends, as well as those affected by her actions, she failed to bring about a unified Irish socialist republic. Instead the Good Friday Agreement that brought some peace and stability to Ireland was achieved by jettisoning armed struggle in favour of plodding political strategy, and ditching ideological purity for pragmatic compromise. Ultimately a united Ireland will most likely be achieved by similar means. It’s no coincidence that militant doctrinaire purists like Dugdale found themselves increasingly side-lined in Irish republicanism during the peace process and in the years since.
Overall anyone interested in this period will gain something from reading this book after which they can draw their own conclusions. I’d offer two pieces of advice: firstly, the text presupposes some knowledge of Anglo-Irish history, particularly from the sixties up until the Good Friday Agreement, so if you’re not familiar I recommend reading up on this; secondly, this is a pretty disheartening tale so if you’re looking for romanticism you’ll find little of it here. A revolution is not a dinner party.
It’s clear from the outset that Dugdale was no armchair revolutionary. After renouncing her former life and giving away most of her inheritance she became involved in arms smuggling, robbery, hijacking, bombing, kidnapping and weapons production before inevitably landing in jail. O’Driscoll charts these events diligently but offers little analysis leaving it to his readers to make sense of why anyone would exchange such a comfortable existence for the brutality and hardship of life in an underground army. In a rare moment of reflection a seemingly baffled O’Driscoll confesses that he can find “no event or specific family dynamic that explains why Rose took such a different path.”
Dugdale was certainly unusual but not unique. Similar individuals could be found in other urban guerrilla outfits of the time like the Baader-Meinhof, Red Brigades and ETA. Much of the rhetoric of the era may sound unconvincing now, but back then Dugdale seems to have swallowed the doctrine of revolutionary class war hook, line and sinker. She concluded that the conflict in Ireland was part of the front-line in the class struggle (a questionable interpretation even in purely Marxist terms) and this determined the course of her life thereafter. Typical of those who become fixated on changing the world she often failed to see what was happening right under her nose. She spent a considerable amount of time on the streets of Dublin battling drug dealers (at considerable personal risk) yet failed to prevent her own son becoming one himself.
Ironically for a Marxist, Dugdale’s whole life seems to have been built on a foundation of irreconcilable contradictions and she left behind a problematic legacy. Despite bringing considerable suffering upon herself, family and friends, as well as those affected by her actions, she failed to bring about a unified Irish socialist republic. Instead the Good Friday Agreement that brought some peace and stability to Ireland was achieved by jettisoning armed struggle in favour of plodding political strategy, and ditching ideological purity for pragmatic compromise. Ultimately a united Ireland will most likely be achieved by similar means. It’s no coincidence that militant doctrinaire purists like Dugdale found themselves increasingly side-lined in Irish republicanism during the peace process and in the years since.
Overall anyone interested in this period will gain something from reading this book after which they can draw their own conclusions. I’d offer two pieces of advice: firstly, the text presupposes some knowledge of Anglo-Irish history, particularly from the sixties up until the Good Friday Agreement, so if you’re not familiar I recommend reading up on this; secondly, this is a pretty disheartening tale so if you’re looking for romanticism you’ll find little of it here. A revolution is not a dinner party.
November 1, 2022
Amazing truth is stranger than fiction account of the still living Rose Dugdale. I would say the first half of the book was more compelling -- the second half spent a lot of time talking about explosives production by the IRA. It's hard to believe that the events of Rose's life are in living memory.
November 15, 2023
Well researched, well written and fascinating. Still, I found a big chunk in the middle really hard going. The coldly calculated violence, the civilian deaths, in places I know of or have visited just made it hard to listen to at times although the voice actor did a great job. I'm glad I stuck it out but I'm glad it's over.
November 11, 2024
A solid biography based on lots of first hand research, including interviews with the woman herself. While not judgey about the more violent aspects of Dugdale’s life, the author takes care to mention the victims in specific terms. The audience is clearly those with a basic knowledge of the IRA.
October 28, 2024
3.5/5 stars
March 20, 2023
War against the rich.
Not a bad subject for a book quite an interesting view of an English woman fighting against her own people & government.
Not a bad subject for a book quite an interesting view of an English woman fighting against her own people & government.
January 24, 2023
A riveting biography of Rose Dugdale who hit the 1970s headlines across the world as an IRA bomber. The books title summarises her lifetimes roles, but omits her relationships with parents, siblings, friends, lovers and her son, her early life, her university life and her belief in actively supporting those in poverty and those who are oppressed.
The book is extremely well written and researched and is well constructed. It is not challenging to read and is a fascinating study of an amazing woman. I really enjoyed reading it.
The book is extremely well written and researched and is well constructed. It is not challenging to read and is a fascinating study of an amazing woman. I really enjoyed reading it.
August 21, 2023
“I have always hated war and am by nature and philosophy a pacifist, but it is the English who are forcing war on us, and the first principle of war is to kill the enemy”. This is a quote from Maud Gonne, but it could perfectly well have been from Rose Dungdale. Though separated by almost a century, their lives bear some similarities: both had English origins, both renounced them and turned to the Irish Republican cause, and both have been inspirations for male writers. Gonne was Yeats’s muse, the inspiration behind several plays and poems by the famous Irish writer. Rose Dungdale, meanwhile, has been the inspiration for Sean O’Driscoll’s Heiress, Rebel, Vigilante, Bomber.
Although, unlike Yeats, O’Driscoll has not devoted other works to Dungdale, he has written about the IRA before. His first book, The Accidental Spy, is the story of an American truck driver who became a spy for the FBI and MI5 and infiltrated the terrorist organisation, eventually sending one of its leaders to prison. In Heiress, Rebel, Vigilante, Bomber, the focus is on Rose Dungdale, a British heiress who ended up in the IRA and was involved in robberies, bombings and arm development. Rose’s story is familiar to Irish and British alike, at least the criminal activity part of it. In his work, O’Driscoll also recounts her life before and after the IRA, in an exhaustive portrait in which his meticulous research is evident.
In “Note on sources”, the author recounts this research process, which has been praised by critics. The journalist states that “the most important sources for this book are new” and gives an overview of the testimonial and documentary sources that underpin this work and all the facts and details recounted in it. However, at times O’Driscoll’s meticulousness works against him, slowing the pace of the book and making it a somewhat ponderous read. The journalist gets lost in the background and activities of secondary characters who do not reappear and have little relevance to Dungdale’s life or the events being narrated. This makes it difficult to engage with her story, something that’s also helped by the fact that the protagonist’s voice is barely present until 100 pages into the story. Nonetheless, this decision makes some sense, as we begin to hear Rose precisely when she starts to be at the “centre of things”, as she puts it. That is, after her participation in the Strabane bombing, when she feels that “I was really doing as I said I would do”.
At this point the author also uses the first person for the first time, a device that not only catches the reader by surprise, taking them slightly out of the narrative, but also raises some interesting questions. The Dungdale case is a sensitive one because of its direct link to IRA terrorism. O’Driscoll does a good job of staying away from moral judgments, letting the facts and the characters do the talking and leaving the readers to draw their own conclusions – in other words, applying the principles of journalism. But by including the first person, especially when referring to his conversations with Rose, we are reminded that there is a person with his own ideas and opinions behind this book, making us question the distance O’Driscoll claims to have maintained: “This book presents no prescription or diagnosis, but I hope it offers insights into a complex personality”.
With his work, O’Driscoll wants to present the “two sides of Rose, the extraordinarily generous and the disturbingly brutal”. We read about a Rose who has no problem bombing or developing explosives, or who claims that certain people deserve their suffering, but who at the same time provides money and asylum to those in need and is warm and generous to those closest to her. Heiress, Rebel, Vigilante, Bomber is the story of a very compelling woman, but told in a style that fails to live up to its protagonist. Although the accuracy and veracity of the journalist are remarkable, it is missing a more human face capable of maintaining the narrative pulse, a certain emotional touch that could only be achieved with a more literary style.
The book’s dryness is already announced by the title, a succession of nouns that leaves no room for the imagination. If, like me, anyone finds the title difficult to remember, it can be noted that the order of these four words corresponds to the structure of the book. Thus, in the first quarter of the book O’Driscoll retells Dungdale’s life as a heiress, her childhood, her participation in the last debutante ball, and her studies and relationships at Oxford. There, together with a classmate, Rose disguised herself as a man and attended the Oxford Union, “breaking the rule of only men of nearly 140 years” and initiating her rebel phase, which was to be accentuated when she met the “revolutionary socialist” Walter Heaton, who became her lover. In this second phase, as well as distributing her generous fortune among the poor of Tottenham, she robbed her family to finance the IRA’s activities. Following Heaton’s imprisonment for this theft, Rose travelled to Ireland, where she became directly involved with the terrorist group. Along with Eddie Gallagher, she participated in two notorious terrorist attacks: the bombing of an RUC station in Strabane and the theft of 19 Old Master paintings from Beit’s state. Dungdale was arrested days later and sentenced to nine years in prison. There, she gave birth to her only son, Ruairí.
These are the best-known facts of Rose Dungdale’s life, but O’Driscoll delves deeper into the story of the revolutionary heiress in the second half of the book. After her release from prison, Rose gets involved in the IRA’s vigilante drug movement in Dublin. And, after meeting Jim Monaghan, who is still her partner nowadays, she becomes a central figure in the development of weapons and explosives.
Heiress, rebel, vigilante and bomber. These are the faces of the multilayered Rose, though at times they seem to mirror those of her male lovers: she becomes involved in the socialist cause with the revolutionary Wally; radicalises with the dangerous Eddie; and engages in bomb development with the intellectual Jim. This apparent tendency to associate with and “follow” the activities of her partners slightly tarnishes her character.
In any case, O’Driscoll succeeds in drawing us into the radical political scene of Ireland in the second half of the 20th century by introducing us to one of the figures who made up this important chapter in Irish history – as he did in his previous book. The journalist has expressed his interest in completing “an IRA trilogy of the Troubles because I feel that generation are dying off and getting too old to tell their story. It’s a last chance to tell these stories before they disappear”. We now have to wait to see what fascinating personality awaits us in his next work.
Although, unlike Yeats, O’Driscoll has not devoted other works to Dungdale, he has written about the IRA before. His first book, The Accidental Spy, is the story of an American truck driver who became a spy for the FBI and MI5 and infiltrated the terrorist organisation, eventually sending one of its leaders to prison. In Heiress, Rebel, Vigilante, Bomber, the focus is on Rose Dungdale, a British heiress who ended up in the IRA and was involved in robberies, bombings and arm development. Rose’s story is familiar to Irish and British alike, at least the criminal activity part of it. In his work, O’Driscoll also recounts her life before and after the IRA, in an exhaustive portrait in which his meticulous research is evident.
In “Note on sources”, the author recounts this research process, which has been praised by critics. The journalist states that “the most important sources for this book are new” and gives an overview of the testimonial and documentary sources that underpin this work and all the facts and details recounted in it. However, at times O’Driscoll’s meticulousness works against him, slowing the pace of the book and making it a somewhat ponderous read. The journalist gets lost in the background and activities of secondary characters who do not reappear and have little relevance to Dungdale’s life or the events being narrated. This makes it difficult to engage with her story, something that’s also helped by the fact that the protagonist’s voice is barely present until 100 pages into the story. Nonetheless, this decision makes some sense, as we begin to hear Rose precisely when she starts to be at the “centre of things”, as she puts it. That is, after her participation in the Strabane bombing, when she feels that “I was really doing as I said I would do”.
At this point the author also uses the first person for the first time, a device that not only catches the reader by surprise, taking them slightly out of the narrative, but also raises some interesting questions. The Dungdale case is a sensitive one because of its direct link to IRA terrorism. O’Driscoll does a good job of staying away from moral judgments, letting the facts and the characters do the talking and leaving the readers to draw their own conclusions – in other words, applying the principles of journalism. But by including the first person, especially when referring to his conversations with Rose, we are reminded that there is a person with his own ideas and opinions behind this book, making us question the distance O’Driscoll claims to have maintained: “This book presents no prescription or diagnosis, but I hope it offers insights into a complex personality”.
With his work, O’Driscoll wants to present the “two sides of Rose, the extraordinarily generous and the disturbingly brutal”. We read about a Rose who has no problem bombing or developing explosives, or who claims that certain people deserve their suffering, but who at the same time provides money and asylum to those in need and is warm and generous to those closest to her. Heiress, Rebel, Vigilante, Bomber is the story of a very compelling woman, but told in a style that fails to live up to its protagonist. Although the accuracy and veracity of the journalist are remarkable, it is missing a more human face capable of maintaining the narrative pulse, a certain emotional touch that could only be achieved with a more literary style.
The book’s dryness is already announced by the title, a succession of nouns that leaves no room for the imagination. If, like me, anyone finds the title difficult to remember, it can be noted that the order of these four words corresponds to the structure of the book. Thus, in the first quarter of the book O’Driscoll retells Dungdale’s life as a heiress, her childhood, her participation in the last debutante ball, and her studies and relationships at Oxford. There, together with a classmate, Rose disguised herself as a man and attended the Oxford Union, “breaking the rule of only men of nearly 140 years” and initiating her rebel phase, which was to be accentuated when she met the “revolutionary socialist” Walter Heaton, who became her lover. In this second phase, as well as distributing her generous fortune among the poor of Tottenham, she robbed her family to finance the IRA’s activities. Following Heaton’s imprisonment for this theft, Rose travelled to Ireland, where she became directly involved with the terrorist group. Along with Eddie Gallagher, she participated in two notorious terrorist attacks: the bombing of an RUC station in Strabane and the theft of 19 Old Master paintings from Beit’s state. Dungdale was arrested days later and sentenced to nine years in prison. There, she gave birth to her only son, Ruairí.
These are the best-known facts of Rose Dungdale’s life, but O’Driscoll delves deeper into the story of the revolutionary heiress in the second half of the book. After her release from prison, Rose gets involved in the IRA’s vigilante drug movement in Dublin. And, after meeting Jim Monaghan, who is still her partner nowadays, she becomes a central figure in the development of weapons and explosives.
Heiress, rebel, vigilante and bomber. These are the faces of the multilayered Rose, though at times they seem to mirror those of her male lovers: she becomes involved in the socialist cause with the revolutionary Wally; radicalises with the dangerous Eddie; and engages in bomb development with the intellectual Jim. This apparent tendency to associate with and “follow” the activities of her partners slightly tarnishes her character.
In any case, O’Driscoll succeeds in drawing us into the radical political scene of Ireland in the second half of the 20th century by introducing us to one of the figures who made up this important chapter in Irish history – as he did in his previous book. The journalist has expressed his interest in completing “an IRA trilogy of the Troubles because I feel that generation are dying off and getting too old to tell their story. It’s a last chance to tell these stories before they disappear”. We now have to wait to see what fascinating personality awaits us in his next work.
July 7, 2024
I find myself... conflicted. I really wanted to like this book and learn more about Rose Dugdale, but I found some content too superficial and other content focused away from Rose.
Firstly, who was Rose? We know that she came from an affluent English family, but WHO WAS SHE? There's nothing in this book about her relationships or what drove her as a person... just that she wanted nothing more than to free 'the oppressed'.
Secondly, you need to understand England at this time and the censorship in place to carefully feed news from Northern Ireland to the English. Not all news made it through, and even the voice of Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams was over-dubbed, so his influence over the English was (supposedly) lessened.
Did Rose, therefore, rush off to Northern Ireland with romanticised ideals? Probably. Her life certainly changed when she met Eddie Gallagher, whom she later had a child with and married.
This is where the book loses traction for me, as it becomes more about Eddie and the bomb-making cell than about Rose and her perspective.
Did Rose care about those 'oppressed' people as she injured and maimed them? It doesn't appear so as she felt justified in her actions and their outcomes. I am, however, glad that this book wasn't used as a vehicle for preaching her justifications.
Overall, this is an interesting read if you're interested in this period of Northern Ireland's history, the unrest, the IRA, the Provos, their actions, and the journey to a permanent ceasefire.
Firstly, who was Rose? We know that she came from an affluent English family, but WHO WAS SHE? There's nothing in this book about her relationships or what drove her as a person... just that she wanted nothing more than to free 'the oppressed'.
Secondly, you need to understand England at this time and the censorship in place to carefully feed news from Northern Ireland to the English. Not all news made it through, and even the voice of Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams was over-dubbed, so his influence over the English was (supposedly) lessened.
Did Rose, therefore, rush off to Northern Ireland with romanticised ideals? Probably. Her life certainly changed when she met Eddie Gallagher, whom she later had a child with and married.
This is where the book loses traction for me, as it becomes more about Eddie and the bomb-making cell than about Rose and her perspective.
Did Rose care about those 'oppressed' people as she injured and maimed them? It doesn't appear so as she felt justified in her actions and their outcomes. I am, however, glad that this book wasn't used as a vehicle for preaching her justifications.
Overall, this is an interesting read if you're interested in this period of Northern Ireland's history, the unrest, the IRA, the Provos, their actions, and the journey to a permanent ceasefire.
September 25, 2023
The story of Rose Dugdale is intriguing up to a point. But the "heiress turned terrorist" theme only goes a limited distance. The two motivations that remain unnamed are Dugdale's extreme arrogance that she knows what's best for Northern Ireland and Ireland, even if their citizens don't. And although her Marxist political beliefs are outlines, they are rarely challenged. When they are as happened in England one time when a group of striking workers told Dugdale and her compatriots that it was their brothers and other family members who were being killed in Northern Ireland as members of the British Army.
When Dugdale couldn't change the lives of poor people with her fortune, she ran off to join forces with the IRA. However, for much of her time in Ireland, the actions she and others took were not sanctioned by the IRA who were unaware of these people taking actions in their name. Dugdale who on one hand proclaimed deep concern for poor and oppressed people, she had no compunction about bombings and rocket attacks she was part of, nor for their victims. The most egregious part of her biography is her continuation of violent attacks after the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
In the end, I had no sympathy for this woman who I saw as a person who saw herself as a savior of Northern Irish people, killing many in her misguided campaign.
When Dugdale couldn't change the lives of poor people with her fortune, she ran off to join forces with the IRA. However, for much of her time in Ireland, the actions she and others took were not sanctioned by the IRA who were unaware of these people taking actions in their name. Dugdale who on one hand proclaimed deep concern for poor and oppressed people, she had no compunction about bombings and rocket attacks she was part of, nor for their victims. The most egregious part of her biography is her continuation of violent attacks after the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
In the end, I had no sympathy for this woman who I saw as a person who saw herself as a savior of Northern Irish people, killing many in her misguided campaign.
October 17, 2025
Rose Dugdale was actually very incompetent and amateurish. She was bound to get caught after stealing the Russborough paintings because she continued to pretend she was a French tourist so it was easy for the Garda to find her. She was proudest of the bombings of the Strabane barracks but even that was a failure because the helicopter didn't hover over the right part of the barracks. Perhaps the most useful thing she did was to support her partner Jim Monaghan who was the bomb-making expert of the IRA for many years. That definitely helped the IRA.
Where she was genuinely successful was in fighting the drug dealers of Dublin. They were frightened of her because they thought she was in the IRA so they couldn't eliminate her in the way they could eliminate other opponents. She really cracked down on heroin dealing in Dublin. She also worked selflessly to promote Sinn Fein. All in all, she was indeed an interesting person but probably got much more attention as an upper class English girl than another similar person. The book is very detailed and the author Sean O'Driscoll has spoken to everyone who was associated in any way with Rose Dugdale. Therefore the book is a very useful historical document.
Where she was genuinely successful was in fighting the drug dealers of Dublin. They were frightened of her because they thought she was in the IRA so they couldn't eliminate her in the way they could eliminate other opponents. She really cracked down on heroin dealing in Dublin. She also worked selflessly to promote Sinn Fein. All in all, she was indeed an interesting person but probably got much more attention as an upper class English girl than another similar person. The book is very detailed and the author Sean O'Driscoll has spoken to everyone who was associated in any way with Rose Dugdale. Therefore the book is a very useful historical document.
January 29, 2025
Really interesting biography of a woman who lived an absolutely unbelievable life that would seem over the top of I didn't know it was all real. I don't think I liked this quite as much as Say Nothing, which covers a similar time period and topic and which I read recently, but Say Nothing is an absolutely tremendous book that's hard to top. I did really like that the author was very clear about citing his sources and interviewed tons of people connected to Rose Dugdale, though I did wish there had been a bit more analysis of her motivations and justifications for her actions. Maybe I just find it a wild psychological divide to be fighting in the name of freeing Ireland its people while primarily spending your time doing heists and missions not approved by the actual IRA and designing grenades and other weapons that killed a ton of civilians, though.
July 26, 2022
This was a very interesting read I thought. The author related events as they’d happened without passing judgement one way or the other and it provided a real insight into IRA operations during the Troubles & the mindset of these people. Rose is a hard woman to figure out, full of contradictions & like the author, I found it difficult to understand why someone from her background chose this life. No doubt she’d argue that all the innocent lives lost and people maimed, in which she played an active part, were all justified by “the cause”. I felt most sorry for Ruairi, neither of whose parents ever seemed to put his needs before their own (Eddie seemed marginally better in this way but that’s no compliment)thankfully he seems to have made a decent life for himself. A really good book.
March 23, 2024
Wanting to learn more about The Troubles, I didn't think I could get a more interesting perspective than the one of Rose Dugdale, a British heiress turned IRA bomber. While I do think that the book's middleground between literature and journalism lent itself well as an entrypoint to 20th century Irish history, I did find it lacking at times. For example, some of the book's most compelling scenes came across more as a list of facts or chronology. I do appreciate that the author included a vast amount of sources though, both personal and impersonal to Rose Dugdale, so I don't see how else it could have been written without dishonouring these connections.
Overall, this non-prescriptive narrative of Rose Dugdale's life leaves room for personal interpretation: a feat in itself given how charged this piece of history continues to be.
Overall, this non-prescriptive narrative of Rose Dugdale's life leaves room for personal interpretation: a feat in itself given how charged this piece of history continues to be.
August 4, 2024
An introduction to the IRA’s role in the Troubles, this book is a page-turning look into the life of Dr. Rose Dugdale, an English woman born into extreme wealth who gave away much of her money and joined the IRA. This book features an art heist, bi representation, a hostage situation, and explorations of gender, patriarchy, police violence, and class within ridiculous, strange, sometimes heroic, and wild contexts.
The latter half of the book explores the history of the IRA and the potential costs of idealism, martyrdom, and political ideologies. It led me to both question and explore my own beliefs. My only complaint is that the final 4th of the novel felt repetitive, and I wish the author had included his own perspectives to make the book more readable.
The latter half of the book explores the history of the IRA and the potential costs of idealism, martyrdom, and political ideologies. It led me to both question and explore my own beliefs. My only complaint is that the final 4th of the novel felt repetitive, and I wish the author had included his own perspectives to make the book more readable.
February 5, 2024
An intriguing life story of Rose Dugdale, the IRA bomber who made international headlines in the 1970s. Her life roles are summed up in the book's title, but it leaves out her relationships with her son, parents, siblings, friends, and lovers as well as her early years and college years, as well as her conviction that people who are oppressed or live in poverty should actively support one another.
The book is beautifully written, thoroughly researched, and put together. The study of an incredible woman is fascinating and not at all difficult to read. Reading it was incredibly enjoyable.
The book is beautifully written, thoroughly researched, and put together. The study of an incredible woman is fascinating and not at all difficult to read. Reading it was incredibly enjoyable.
March 24, 2024
Coincidentally was reading this at the time Rose passed.
This was a good read in the sense of discovering the life of someone I had never heard of before and least expected to be in the IRA. However, this book was almost purely narrative and lacked any real analysis into Rose's actions and decisions. It also frequently delineated from Rose's story in talking at length about Eddie Gallagher, bomb making and the Colombia Three (although interesting nonetheless).
Overall enjoyed such a well researched story of a very complex woman.
This was a good read in the sense of discovering the life of someone I had never heard of before and least expected to be in the IRA. However, this book was almost purely narrative and lacked any real analysis into Rose's actions and decisions. It also frequently delineated from Rose's story in talking at length about Eddie Gallagher, bomb making and the Colombia Three (although interesting nonetheless).
Overall enjoyed such a well researched story of a very complex woman.
May 23, 2023
It's hard to believe this book is based on somebody's true life story!! It made for a harrowing read but I was in awe of the amazing person Rose Dugdale was and how she fought for the cause of the IRA. I would most definitely recommend this book to a friend, if they're interested in progressive, strong women or in the history of Ireland during the Troubles. **Patiently awaiting a film release of the book. **
September 8, 2023
Rounded up from 3.5, this was an enjoyable audio. I went in knowing nothing of Rose Dugdale but she was a force to be reckoned with. I found myself spacing out through bits and pieces but by no fault of the book or narrator. Sunny weather head wasn’t in it. Well researched and well constructed. Real shine. into how people can get involved with the RA. Knowing the history behind the story it doesn’t ever come across as unbelievable. Would recommend.
June 22, 2024
A compelling story of the English heiress who became an IRA bomber. The most admirable people in the book are her relatives who had reason to disown her (she recruited a group of criminals to break into her parents house to steal valuables - and that’s just for starters) but they never did disown her. Her story is well told in this book. The second half of the book goes into too much detail about her IRA bomb making and weapons development activities but overall it’s a book worth reading.
July 24, 2024
I won't rule out that I'm just stupid and uncultured, but I didn't know who rose dugdale was at the start of this, and the author didn't explain why I should care about her, so for the first third I was just trying to figure out what the point of the book was. After I figured out what the premise was it got more enjoyable, but I think it was still written with the idea that the reader should know most of it before starting
April 7, 2023
I’ve only just finished this and probably need a bit more time to process my thoughts regarding Rose Dugdale. I think I felt that I had sympathy for her until the violence started. Still a interesting read though, although I did lose my sympathy for her and found her lack of empathy for the victims a bit grim.
The author really does a good job of trying to stay as balanced as possible.
The author really does a good job of trying to stay as balanced as possible.
March 29, 2025
Let us not forget the suffering of others caused by extremist cultures
Brilliantly written. A remarkable real life story of an exceptional woman, who lived by her own rules, but definitely not within the legal bounds of the law! Unbelievable life chosen for her beliefs when she could have lived it in peace!
Brilliantly written. A remarkable real life story of an exceptional woman, who lived by her own rules, but definitely not within the legal bounds of the law! Unbelievable life chosen for her beliefs when she could have lived it in peace!
March 11, 2023
This is a well told and researched account of the life of Rose Dugdale. The book gives lots of details of Rose Dugdales early life and activity in the IRA. I enjoyed the book and felt it was well written.
January 28, 2024
This was quite a unique story of an English woman becoming radically opposed to its occupation of Ireland. The story was well-written, although towards the end as Rose got older and the GFA had already gone into effect, I found myself frustrated at her actions and just wanted it to be over.
February 29, 2024
Such an interesting woman, very well told in the first half of the book and in the last chapter. But there are swathes of the second half dedicated solely to bomb making and the Colombia three that are not actually Rose's own story.
August 16, 2024
What a book, what a life Rose Dugdale led.
Could of had a life of luxury but shunned to fight for what she believed in, whether you agree with her methods or not she wont care.
I could not put the book down and then went straight on Amazon to watch the program in relation to the heist, mental.
One of the best books i have read with regards the troubles
Could of had a life of luxury but shunned to fight for what she believed in, whether you agree with her methods or not she wont care.
I could not put the book down and then went straight on Amazon to watch the program in relation to the heist, mental.
One of the best books i have read with regards the troubles
March 17, 2023
A good recent history read
Very well researched & written brief history of NI, the IRA and Rose Dugdale’s unique contribution to the IRA’s cause.
Very well researched & written brief history of NI, the IRA and Rose Dugdale’s unique contribution to the IRA’s cause.
May 4, 2023
A fascinating read, with no bias.
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