In February 1983, Shergar was kidnapped for ransom by the IRA, who killed him when the abduction went wrong and buried his body in a bog in the north of County The mystery man who went to Ireland to disappear. By day four, an impasse had been reached. Shergar was valued at 10million when he disappeared. In February 1983, Shergar was kidnapped from his stable in Kildare, held for ransom, and brutally killed by his captors who havent been identified. They demanded a 5m ransom from the syndicate owning the horse, which included the Aga Khan. His owner Le Mare always had the dream of winning the Grand National, so Red Rum began training for his new career in steeplechasing. Now, chief reporter Andrew Alderson has solved the mystery of Shergar's final hours, why his remains have never been found and uncovered the truth about the bungled ransom attempt that led to his demise. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Some said it was the Mafia in retaliation for a horse deal with the Aga Khan that had gone wrong. At his home, Jim Fitzgerald was dismayed when I broke the news about exactly how the horse he had cared for had died. From there, the scene moved to Maxwells farmhouse, at a remote location outside Belfast. His 306 foals went on to produce such legends as 1964 Derby and Preakness winner Northern Dancer, who himself sired 645 named foals; Mr. Along with triple Grand National winner Red Rum, it remains probably the most famous horse to come out of Europe in the last century. August 26, 1984. Thieves stole a life-size statue of the triple Grand National winner, Red Rum, from a house in East Meon, Hampshire. "A clue? "I do not believe any ransom will be paid. Stud fees were set at around 80,000 for each time it covered a brood mare. I received various messages after the film and all sorts of controversial theories afterwards that I was emailed. In the one-hour programme Bafta-winning film maker Alison Millar looks at the life and death of the dual Derby hero, stolen at gunpoint from the Aga Khan's Ballymany Even though the Troubles ended a decade ago we were advised "not to spend more than an hour there if you are asking awkward questions". Inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2011, First Down Dash is arguably the greatest race sire of all time. After driving him around for three hours, the kidnappers dumped Fitzgerald out of the car. When he retired after that first season, racehorse owners paid up to $120,000 for shares in his services impregnating mares, eager to have young horses from his bloodline to train for races. Negotiations were conducted with the thieves, but the gang broke off all communication A source told the paper: "Shergar was machine gunned to death. Shergar ran just eight races in his short life, winning six times. I remember Willie Carson it was Willie he bumped said that it was nothing afterwards.. "An operation of this intensity requiring this amount of manpower would have to have been authorised at a high level," he said. The Sunday Telegraph has been told that four days after Shergar was seized, and following extensive stalling by the Aga Khan's representative, the Army Council realised their equine "property" was worthless and told the gang to release the horse. If they had wanted to steal a horse, they couldnt have found a kinder horse,' said Doreen Swinburn. She spent months getting to know them. Shortly after 8.30pm on February 8, 1983, Jim Fitzgerald, then 53, the head groom who lived at the stud, heard a knock on his door. The truth about Shergar racehorse kidnapping By Andrew Alderson, Chief Reporter examiner.co.uk 27 Jan 2008 It is 25 years since a world-famous racehorse was kidnapped by the IRA, never to be seen again. He had been preparing for his second season as a breeding stallion, the BBC said. Millars film is a forensic portrayal of Shergars kidnapping and contains definitive interviews with Cosgrove and Fitzgerald, both of whom died in the years afterwards. Mallon is described by those who know him, including former paramilitaries, as a "head case". The bay colt was owned by the Aga Khan, the billionaire spiritual leader to 15 million Ismaili Muslims, was trained by Sir Michael Stoute at Newmarket and was ridden by the "choirboy", an angelic looking 19-year-old jockey called Walter Swinburn, who now trains in Britain. Now, chief reporter Andrew Alderson has solved the mystery of Shergar's final hours, why his remains have never been found and uncovered the truth about the In an interview given to the Telegraph in 2008, a source claimed that Shergar was machine-gunned to death by the IRA. Laurence White reports. They did. But the next year - when 55 mares were lined up to breed from Shergar - everything changed. It is still the sort of town where locals turn their heads when two British journalists walk into a pub. Owner the Aga Khan sold 34 shares in the horse at 250,000 each and kept another six for himself, valuing it at 10m. An armed gang who stole Shergar, winner of the 1981 Derby from the Aga Khan's Irish stud on Tuesday night told a captive groom at the time that they would be demanding 2 million for his safe return. "I would love to see this mystery resolved so that we all knew what happened to the horse's remains. Copyright 2023 Irish Studio LLC All rights reserved. Letters written by an IRA supergrass to the Belfast Telegraph's late political editor, Liam Clarke, proved pivotal in the making of a new BBC documentary on one of Ireland greatest kidnap mysteries. Bank robberies, or hold-ups of cash in transit, was becoming more and more difficult and a new strategy needed to be found. How much should we talk about our private life at work? John Waynes Monument Valley Horseback Ride, Wyatt Earps Vendetta Ride Tombstone Arizona Territory. Just sort of go out there and do your best. Stan Cosgrove, now 81, who spent more than 80,000 trying to get the horse back and, later, in trying to prove that Shergar was dead, has never received a penny. The Ballymany Stud is located in County Kildare, Ireland. More are on the way. Horse Profile and Mysterious Disappearance of Shergar . Four hours later he was released, still blindfolded but unharmed, near Dublin. They approached several locals, but each time was stonewalled when the conversation turned to the horse. Case of the Stolen Racehorse We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. Some believe the IRA snatched the horse, as they were looking for new sources of funding around the same time. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. Tommy Foley, from Tralee in Co Kerry, said he found the remains of the stallion's skull last Saturday during an annual clean up of a glen outside the West Ireland town. His frightened family had followed kidnappers' orders to remain silent and it was 5 am yesterday before police were contacted. This process is referred to as a caricature of police bungling, as the actual police werent notified until 8 hours after Shergar was taken and the men were long gone from the area. The truth about Shergar racehorse kidnapping - The Telegraph Alison, who has been fascinated by the disappearance of Shergar since her early years, researched the existing material meticulously and found some of the so-called 'exclusives' less than accurate. I hope one day we can get to the bottom of what happend. Last night police chief Mr Murphy appealed to the gang to return Shergar unharmed. But this turned out to be an elaborate hoax and the real negotiations were going on between. But there was an important difference between the two. Who is the greatest female horse of all time? Capt Berry's work and home phone lines were tapped, with his knowledge, by the Dublin police after his association put up a 100,000 reward for information leading to Shergar's safe return. Shergar: kidnapped by the IRA, killed, buried in a bog in north He's dead." It is 25 years since a world-famous racehorse was kidnapped by the IRA, never to be seen again. WebShergar was stolen from the Aga Khan's stud farm by an armed gang on 8 February 1983. The IRA plan was naive: they assumed they were blackmailing the Aga Khan for a ransom of 2 million. Police were checking on reports that a car and horsebox were seen heading towards the Ulster border at dawn yesterday. Using coded phrases, the kidnappers soon began negotiations with a representative of the Aga Khan over the telephone but made sure to hang up before 90 seconds passed so that authorities couldnt track their location. The 10-length winning distance has never been bettered in a race that dates back to 1780. Not only was Man o War one of the immortals of horse racing, he later became a top sire. Even as the case remains unsolved, Taking Shergar offers a new look at this over thirty-year-old mystery. He was bred by the Aga Khan and sold for 10 million to an international syndicate when he was retired from racing. And when he was released, he spent two of three weeks with us.". Staff assigned to look after Shergar, valued at 20million, were not in his centrally-heated security stable. It was believed Shergar valued at 10m was taken by the IRA, which was short of money and looking for new sources of funding. What has been discovered almost definitively, according to a close course, was that two handlers, one clutching a machine gun, went into the remote stable where the horse was being held and opened fire. One of them, with the revolver, was very aggressive," said Mr Fitzgerald, at his end-of-terrace home in Newbridge, just three miles from the stud. Hes dead.. A series of phone calls was made, ultimately to Stan Cosgrove, the renowned equine vet and a shareholder in Shergar and to Alan Dukes, the Kildare TD and then minister for finance. Shergar The Sunday Telegraph reported that four days after Shergar was seized, the Army Council realized they would never collect a ransom. Shergar Remains were never He was ordered to point out Shergar's box. He was thought to have a long and distinguished stud career ahead of him. "It's just three miles from Tralee and it would be a place where you would conceal the remains unseen for years. Certainly, the operation bore the hallmarks of an IRA plan in that it relied upon immaculate planning, thuggery, ruthlessness and the usual fetish for hokey codenames, delivered tersely down telephones. Alan Dukes, the local MP and Irish finance minister, was then woken by a phone call from Mr Berry telling him of Shergar's kidnapping. The man leading the hunt said: "I do not believe any ransom will be paid, and police will block any attempt to pay one.". Share your favorite stories with other history buffs in the IrishCentral History Facebook group. All rights reserved. When she spoke with people, she found them friendly but reticent The failure to find Shergar's body meant that only members of the syndicate who had insured the horse for theft - as well as death or an accident - were compensated by their insurance companies. If there was a silence, it was because there is no true answer to the question: why would anyone do such a thing? According to the former IRA member, the kidnappers' problems became acute early on because the vet who had agreed to look after Shergar pulled out on the night of the horse's abduction. It was quite a character of a horse. Insurers refused to pay out without proof of the horse's death. "After that, it was just a case of old-fashioned walking up laneways and knocking on doors and trying to track down people who had some connection with the case. Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, the IRA, and the US Mafia have all been suggested. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. Far from having one owner to get the ransom from the IRA had to deal with the multiple owners of shares in the horse some of whom did not want to set a precedent by paying a ransom. On the racecourse, as a two- and three-year-old, Shergar had been nothing short of sensational, winning the 1981 Derby by 10 lengths, a record distance that century for Britain's biggest flat race. Copyright 2023 Irish Studio LLC All rights reserved. The kidnap strategy was divided into three parts. Jockey Walter Swinburn, who rode Shergar in most of his races, was in India yesterday and had not been told about the horse's disappearance. "I can still remember that night in that car with them lads. The bronze, a replica of a statue at Aintree, is worth pounds 10,000. The family was in Ireland and made a detour to Ballymany one afternoon for a quick visit. Although there was some dissent, the members of the syndicate owning shares in Shergar refused to countenance paying over any money and, shortly afterwards, all contact was ended and the mystery deepened. Hes with his father Wally; boyish, serious, not remotely fazed. Now, chief reporter Andrew Alderson has solved the mystery of Shergar's final hours, why his remains have never Sporting Controversies: The brutal, sad and mysterious tale of In 1999, former IRA gunman Sen O'Callaghan published his memoirs, The Informer. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. But his disappearance remains a mystery. "He has always refused to speak openly about his time in the IRA, but he spoke to me as an 'expert' on the IRA's kidnapping strategy," says Alison. But detectives believe he is hidden away in an isolated spot. From that, she was able to confirm that it was, indeed, the IRA who took the horse, killed it shortly afterwards and buried it near the Northern Ireland border. Sign up to IrishCentral's newsletter to stay up-to-date with everything Irish! 'He was a very kind horse. Jim Fitzgerald, a father of six, was forced at gunpoint to Shergars stable where they were joined by six more masked gunmen. Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in, Please refresh your browser to be logged in, 5% off all bookings with this Travelodge discount code, Save 200 on 2023 holidays with this TUI discount code, Save 5% on hotel bookings with this Barcelo promo code, Extra 20% off selected fashion and sportswear at Very, Get up to 10% off using the Booking.com app, Compare broadband packages side by side to find the best deal for you, Compare cheap broadband deals from providers with fastest speed in your area, All you need to know about fibre broadband, Best Apple iPhone Deals in the UK April 2023, Compare iPhone contract deals and get the best offer this April, Compare the best mobile phone deals from the top networks and brands. They are expected to carry out DNA tests. The kidnappers are widely thought to have been IRA members but much less is known for sure about subsequent events, and Shergar's remains have never been found, while the IRA have never admitted any role in the theft or its aftermath. The champion racehorse won the 1981 Derby by a record of 10 lengths. About 100 cameramen and journalists were in or outside the Europa Hotel as Thompson and his co-negotiators arrived. No one has ever admitted responsibility for the incident, and the remains of the horse have never been found. In 1981 he ran in six races, winning five of them. I was just fascinated by the story. At least six thugs arrived at the stud farm at around 8.30pm and held Jim Fitzgerald, head groom, at gunpoint. The hunt for Shergar created a huge media storm - everyone in the UK and Ireland were hell-bent on getting him back, and the Dublin police had offered an over $150,000 reward for his return. I dont think this is a good thing, I cant stand the thought of overpaying for something I could have afforded with a little planning, Homobesity: How one overweight, gay, middleaged man learned to be comfortable in his skin, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+: 10 of the best new shows to watch in May. Police are investigating after human remains were found in a large plastic container last week in a New Jersey neighborhood near New York City. "These were letters which set out not only what happened to Shergar, but also referred to the kidnapping of people.". Yes, it is awful, it was a racehorse at the top of its game; yes, it was killed, disappeared. Searching for Shergar: BBC documentary recalls dramatic tale Named Horse of the Year in 1957, Bold Ruler was the first stallion whose offspring won more than $2 million in one season.
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