| Tiede Herrema | |
| Birth Date: | 21 April 1921 |
| Birth Place: | Zuilen, Netherlands |
| Death Place: | Arnhem, Netherlands |
| Occupation: | Businessman |
| Spouse: | Elizabeth Herrema |
| Known For: | Being kidnapped by the Provisional IRA |
In October 1975, Dutch businessman Tiede Herrema (21 April 1921 – 24 April 2020) was kidnapped by the Provisional IRA in Castletroy, near Limerick. This triggered a large police investigation and a two-week siege, after which Herrema was released unharmed.
Tiede Herrema was born in Zuilen (then a municipality, today part of Utrecht) in 1921. During World War II, he was arrested by Nazis because he was in the Dutch resistance, and was sent to a concentration camp in Poland. After being liberated by Soviet forces, he walked 500 km to American lines. In the 1970s, Herrema ran a wire factory, Ferenka, in the city of Limerick, Ireland. At the time, this was the city's biggest employer, with approximately 1,400 workers.
On the morning of 3 October 1975, having just left his home in Castletroy near Limerick, Herrema was abducted by Provisional Irish Republican Army members Eddie Gallagher and Marion Coyle.[1] The kidnappers demanded the release of three IRA prisoners, including Rose Dugdale.[2]
After a massive security operation, the kidnappers were eventually traced on 21 October 1975 to a house in Monasterevin, County Kildare. After a further two-week-long siege, Herrema was released, shaken, but unharmed.[3] He left Ireland soon after.
He eventually returned to Ireland to present an episode of Saturday Live in 1987.[4] He and his wife Elizabeth were made honorary Irish citizens in 1975,[5] and he was made a Freeman of the city of Limerick. In 2005, he donated his personal papers to the University of Limerick. Herrema died in April 2020, 5 days after his wife's death and 3 days after his 99th birthday.[6] [7]