TV viewers have been captivated by the gripping story of a botched IRA bombing attempt, which continues this week.
In January 1974, Ballybofey man Eddie Gallagher and his partner Rose Dugdale hijacked a helicopter and dropped homemade bombs on an RUC base in Strabane. The bombs, housed in two milk churns, failed to explode. The couple went on the run.
Dugdale was pregnant with Gallagher’s child at the time of her capture. She was sentenced to nine years in prison, and her son Ruairi was born in Limerick Prison in December 1974.
The story of Rose Dugdale’s life and exploits is being retold on RTE One this month during a three-part documentary series: The Heiress And The Heist.
The programme, which started last week, explores how Dugdale went from being an English debutante curtsying in front of the Queen to an avid supporter of the IRA and a shocking art thief.
Dugdale was also involved in the 1974 Russborough House heist led a gang to steal £8 million worth of paintings. Their demands? To free the Price sisters who were facing a prison sentence for the 1973 car-bombing attacks and were being force-fed while on hunger strike.
Episode Two of The Heiress And The Heist airs on Tuesday 11th July. This episode follows Rose and her accomplice, Eddie Gallagher, fleeing to the Republic of Ireland and going into hiding after the bombing attempt on Strabane. Around the same time, a Vermeer painting was stolen from Kew Gardens. A ransom note states the painting will be returned in exchange for the release of the Price sisters. Nothing came from the ransom demand, except perhaps to inspire Rose and Eddie’s plan to steal a collection of paintings from Russborough House.
