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. In this case, the Read more. However, Nicky Kehoe, who was also named by O'Callaghan in his book as a member of the IRA kidnap gang, denied any involvement. And there is a separate sadness, too, in that Swinburn, after coming through the vicissitudes of flat racing, would die from injuries sustained from an accidental fall at his home in London, in 2016. Fitzgerald was then forced into their car at gunpoint. Shergar was stolen from Ballymany Stud in Co Kildare on the night of February 9th, 1983. I was just fascinated by the story. When proof of the horses wellbeing was required, the kidnappers instructed someone to go to the Crofton Hotel and report to the front desk as Johnny Logan. Four days after the kidnap, a last phone call came through to Paris. Years later, there were still whispers that Shergar was alive and secretly producing foals whose breeding lines could never be divulged. File photograph: Matt Kavanagh. 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. "There Was Blood Everywhere": What Really Happened to Shergar In February 1983, at the height of The Troubles, Ireland faced a truly mysterious crime that remains virtually unsolved. He was a very kind horse. Or the detective who did his best in a situation that became crazy. Where is Shergar? became a sort of cliche of the time, along with Who Shot JR?, the smiling villain from the TV show Dallas. In the wake of the kidnapping, he was the victim of a scam in which the Garda appears not to have been blameless and which cost him many thousands of pounds. It was quite a character of a horse. However, it is still possible to see, hundreds of feet below and stretching to the horizon, the most sparsely populated terrain in all of Ireland. Nothing more was heard from them again. . Shergar is insured for nearly 4 million, only a fraction of his value. Shergar, 40 years on: Codenames, kidnap, clairvoyants and a And so, the greatest racehorse of the century was butchered in the same way that the IRA killed many of its human enemies. There was lots of cussin' and swearin' because the horse wouldn't die. View our online Press Pack. If they had wanted to steal a horse, they couldnt have found a kinder horse., Keith Duggan is a features writer with The Irish Times, Latest news from the world of sport, along with the best in opinion from our outstanding team of sports writers, Ryan returns to old themes as Cluxton turns the clock back, Kevin Kilbane: Manchester Citys success leaves a bad taste but at least theyre not Wengers arrogant a***holes, Leo Cullen wants Leinster to maximise everything in this window with Sharks next, Compact Thammy Nguyan prepared for heavy lifting in pursuit of Olympic glory, Return of Ballydoyle heavyweight Luxembourg indicates step up in flat campaign, Lossiemouth expected to put Grade One seal on record-breaking season for Willie Mullins, Mullins and Townend continue Punchestown festival dominance with Grade One double, Willie Mullins smashes his own Irish prizemoney record with Punchestown four-timer, Punchestown preview: State Man out to make another statement of intent, Forget carrots, tomatoes, peppers: Here are the best vegetables to grow, New town on the north side of Drogheda is under way to cater for a population of just over 21,100, Im dating a guy who has called things off twice, but I keep going back for more, Senator defends President Michael D Higgins after economists disparage speech, This has been a game-changer for me: how a room in the garden can transform your family life, Four for under 350,000: homes in Dublin, Wicklow, Wexford and Limerick, My five-year-old daughter can be really bossy. Searching for Shergar, BBC One Northern Ireland, Thursday, June 7, Receive today's headlines directly to your inbox every morning and evening, Please check your inbox to verify your details, I thought Id be hauled over the coals, but my boss suggested I see a doctor. The champion racehorse won the 1981 Derby by a record of 10 lengths. Who Owns The Largest Horse Farm In Kentucky? Police were checking on reports that a car and horsebox were seen heading towards the Ulster border at dawn yesterday. The horse was much-loved and a celebrity in itself, and was a five-year old embarking on his second year out to stud when three armed men wearing masks burst into Ballymany threatening the head groom Jim Fitzgerald and his family. There is a general acceptance of who was behind the kidnapping of Shergar. And so it proved in the first year at stud, when it produced 35 foals. "No horse deserves an ending like that - let alone one as special as Shergar. This meant there were two parallel inquiries, with the two forces refusing to share information. Sign up to IrishCentral's newsletter to stay up-to-date with everything Irish! They approached several locals, but each time was stonewalled when the conversation turned to the horse. Its impossible to buy. I never at any stage thought he was worried. It remains the sporting world's most infamous unsolved crime: the theft and subsequent disappearance of legendary 'super-horse' Shergar. She still believes that there are people who have a knowledge of where the remains of the horse lie buried. Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, the IRA, and the US Mafia have all been suggested. Walter rode horses as he found them and that won him many races. It was believed Shergar valued at 10m was taken by the IRA, which was short of money and looking for new sources of funding. "Conway was able to confirm to me that these were not coincidental events, but part of a strategy by the Provisional IRA to raise much-needed money for arms. However, another line of dialogue was taking place through Ballymany Stud, where a caller gave the code name King Neptune the name the kidnappers had instructed Jim Fitzgerald to remember and pass on. They are expected to carry out DNA tests. It is almost impossible now to watch the footage of Shergar striding away from the field, 10 lengths clear in the Epsom Derby no horse has won it by such a margin before or since without thinking of the cruelty and lonesomeness of his last hours. Investors thought it was a licence to print money. That summer was one of coronation for Shergar. Swirling mist and driving rain threaten to obscure the view from a ridge up in the Iron Mountains, high above County Leitrim. They demanded a 5m ransom from the syndicate owning the horse, which included the Aga Khan. His death was one of the lead items in television news bulletins and also made the front pages of national newspapers the next day. It is believed that an IRA gang took him at a time when kidnappings were plentiful. But having established beyond doubt that the horse was killed by the IRA - though Alison is unable to confirm some reports which said that it was machine-gunned to death after breaking a leg and becoming unmanageable - there remained the question posed by the title of the documentary, Searching for Shergar. The IRA's operations were heavily disrupted as every known Republican stronghold and safe house was raided in the hunt for the horse which, in turn, led to the seizure of several arms caches. He was stolen at night along with his groom, who was held at gunpoint in the horse van before being released 20 miles away. The other - "a very senior IRA man" - agreed to talk to her off the record. Why Does My Horse Bob Is Head When I Put His Bridle On? He had been preparing for his second season as a breeding stallion, the BBC said. "When I saw the names he mentioned, I knew right away that what he was saying in the letters was right," she says. He was caught five miles away by fireman Andy Sheldrick. Infamous Shergar-kidnapping case closes Shergar wins the Derby - and you need a telescope to see the rest. - Peter Bromley, BBC Radio, June 3rd, 1981. Staff assigned to look after Shergar, valued at 20million, were not in his centrally-heated security stable. An astonishing lack of security made it equally simple for a four-man gang to steal him from the Aga Khan's stud farm in Ireland. That September, after Shergar finished a disappointing fourth in the St Leger, the Aga Khan decided to retire his prize horse from racing and return him to stud at Ballymany. By now there were up to eight gunmen on the scene. He was born in Kildare in 1978 and kidnapped by an armed gang in 1983. WebShergar was stolen from the Aga Khan's stud farm by an armed gang on 8 February 1983. Early in his three-year-old season, Shergar won the race then known as the Guardian Classic Trial at Sandown Park. Months After Disappearance Of Shergar, Questions Remain 'He was a very kind horse. There was blood everywhere and the horse even slipped on his own blood. At his home, Jim Fitzgerald was dismayed when I broke the news about exactly how the horse he had cared for had died. When proof was eventually presented, it was flimsy: a photo of Shergars head with a copy of a Belfast newspaper from February 9th held against it. The gang had chosen the time for the snatch carefully. At least six thugs arrived at the stud farm at around 8.30pm and held Jim Fitzgerald, head groom, at gunpoint. A decade ago Sean O'Callaghan, an IRA double killer turned police double agent, used his book, The Informer, to name seven former Provos he claimed had planned and carried out the horse's kidnap. Shergar sired 35 foals, including Authaal, who was bought as a yearling by Sheikh Mohammed for Ir3,100,000gns and went on to win the Irish St Leger, and Maysoon, who won the Fred Darling Stakes and reached the places in the 1,000 Guineas and Oaks. The truth about Shergar racehorse kidnapping - The Telegraph In a neat turn of phrase, Alison says: "They thought this horse would be their cash cow.". Doreen Swinburn cant remember the precise date, but Walter Swinburn did, at least, get another chance to say hello to Shergar far away from the thrilling crowds. It changed my life, How King Charles III survived threats posed by nationalism on both sides of the Irish Sea, It tastes foul. What did Cleo sMITHs abductor do to her? 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. Former IRA informer Sean O'Callaghan, who is from Co Kerry, later claimed that the horse had been killed by his abductors who were unable to handle him. His owner Le Mare always had the dream of winning the Grand National, so Red Rum began training for his new career in steeplechasing. Taking Shergar, the first title in the new series, Horses in History, examines this oft-discussed mystery in a new way. Named Horse of the Year in 1957, Bold Ruler was the first stallion whose offspring won more than $2 million in one season. The stud farm was Ireland's main racecourse and training grounds. Shergar Horse and Jockey figurine "He was a gentleman and he even gave us his mobile telephone number. However the kidnappers soon realised that getting the ransom was going to be harder than they thought and killed the horse. On Monday, August 8, 2022, an inmate in the Polk County Detention Center led the Polk County Sheriffs Office to skeletal remains in a shallow grave west of On the cold, muggy evening of February 8, 1983, Shergar was kidnapped by a gang of men in balaclavas, thought to be part of the IRA. It is then believed, and the claim is repeated in a documentary on BBC One in Northern Ireland on Thursday night, that the remains were buried in a bog. WebShergar - Born in County Kildare in 1978 and kidnapped by an armed gang in 1983. 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". The remains of a Cherry Hill man reported missing by his family earlier this year were found by a hunter this week in a state park, authorities said.. Peter Myers, 68, The kidnappers had chosen the day before Ireland's major Goff's racehorse sale - when horse boxes were being driven the length and breadth of the country - to abduct Shergar, thereby making it more difficult for the stallion to be found. Thompson is 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.
Libra, This Week Career,
Earthquake Kenai Peninsula Just Now,
Articles B