Tributes have been paid following the death of Jennifer Guinness, who first came to public prominence when she was kidnapped by an armed gang in 1986.
Ms Guinness, who was 78, was married to merchant banker John Guinness, a member of the brewing family, who died in 1988. He was chairman of the Guinness Mahon bank.
Ms Guinness died from cancer on Saturday, following a long illness. Born Mary Jennifer Hollwey in 1938, she is survived by her daughters Gillian and Tania, son Ian and her husband, Alex Booth.
Ms Guinness made international headlines when she was kidnapped from her Howth home by three armed and masked men in April 1986 and held in a number of locations in Dublin for eight days before being released from a flat on Waterloo Road by gardaí after a five-hour siege. The kidnappers had demanded a £2 million ransom, which gardaí say was not paid. She later became chairwoman of the voluntary organisation Victim Support.
The year after her kidnap she became one of 22 recipients of a bravery award sponsored by a British newspaper.
In an Irish Times report of the kidnapping, one Waterloo Road resident who witnessed her release, is quoted as saying: "Mrs Guinness came out and was driven away, all the time really composed. She's a very cool lady. I admire her very much."
Gardaí at the time also praised Ms Guinness for her resilience and courage, describing her as a considerable asset towards the end of the siege for her “calm demeanour” and her advice to all the parties involved, persuading the kidnappers to give themselves up peacefully.
She gave a press conference on the day of her release and described how when she had been bundled into the boot of a car, she hid the car jack in her coat, later keeping it under her pillow in the first place she was held captive. She later negotiated with the kidnappers a more co-operative stance in return for a radio.
Asked what had kept her going, she replied “a certain amount of anger, a lot of determination”. She said she felt no hatred for her kidnappers but “pity and compassion”.
Four people were convicted for her kidnapping, including two brothers. Mick Cunningham who died in January last year aged 65, was sentenced to 14 years and released in 1995. His younger brother John received a 17-year sentence and was released in 2007.
