The Indo Daily Revisited: The Guinness heiress, the kidnapping and ...
Rescued kidnap victim Jennifer Guinness being driven away following her release from captivity. Photograph: Frank Mc Grath Jnr
Heir to the brewing and banking fortune, Jennifer Guinness lived a quiet life, residing in a luxury Howth mansion. In April 1986, however, a traumatic incident catapulted her into the headlines and resulting in one of the biggest manhunts in the history of the State.
The investigation was sprawling, involving expert Gardai from divisions such as the Serious Crime Squad, Special Branch and Security Task Force.
The saga, which began on the night of April 8, 1986, led to an eight-day nationwide manhunt for John 'The Colonel' Cunningham, his brother Michael, and Dublin criminal Anthony Kelly, all of whom had links to the notorious criminals Christy Kinahan, and Martin 'The General' Cahill.
Jennifer Guinness, a mother of three who was 48 at the time of her ordeal, was held at five different locations around Dublin city centre during the drama.
"I had no doubt at all, most of the time that my life was in danger," she said after being rescued by armed gardai from a flat in a large house on Waterloo Road in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, after a six-hour stand-off, as the kidnappers desperately tried to set conditions to escape.
Irish Independent Special Correspondent Paul Williams speaks to Fionnán Sheahan about the dramatic kidnapping of Jennifer Guinness and the snowball effect it would have on the Irish crime scene for decades to come.
