Dessie O’Hare’s depraved rampage still causes pain

JUST as we recover from the horror visited upon us by Hurricane Ophelia, I heard some remarkable new revelations about another awful episode that dominated Ireland 30 years ago this month. On October 13, 1987, a former member of the Provisional IRA led a gang who kidnapped a Dublin dentist, beginning a 46-day rampage that saw one man horrifically mutilated, a garda shot at point-blank range, a man killed and numerous people kidnapped and held hostage.

The crimes committed by Dessie O’Hare and his murderous gang were one of the most horrific ever in Ireland. In the past week a number of people involved in the ordeal have spoken for the first time.

O’Hare and his gang had set out to kidnap Dr Austin Darragh, a leading medic and businessman. Instead they mistakenly grabbed his dentist son-in-law, John O’Grady. Mr O’Grady’s brother-in-law David Darragh told me his family had decided immediately they would pay the ransom.

By the time gardaí had lifted a media blackout, the hostage had been moved from Dublin’s Parkgate Street – yards from Garda HQ – to a disused Tayto container near Midleton in Co. Cork. A nationwide search led to an initial shootout in Cork, where once again O’Hare’s gang escaped with Mr O’Grady, ending up in a council house in Cabra in Dublin.

David Darragh described the family’s horror when a senior Garda produced a matchbox containing two fingers belonging to John O’Grady which had been chopped off by O’Hare using a hammer and chisel. O’Hare had mutilated his hostage after his gang botched a ransom demand.

The country was now in total turmoil, shock and horror at the depravity of the kidnappers.

The Darragh family secured the £1.5million ransom, including £500,000 in sterling flown into the country by helicopter. Fr Brian D’Arcy, a family friend, agreed to drive the money to Cork – even though the gardaí told him he would almost certainly be killed by the gang once they had the money.

Fr Brian told me that they had to hire an estate car such was the bulk of the money and he was worried that a 10-minute delay had cost O’Grady his life. But then there was a dramatic turn of events.

At the same time, meticulous police work led gardaí to the Cabra house. The hostage was freed, a garda was shot and the gang escaped. Now split up, the gang went on a rampage, hijacking cars, kidnapping and terrorising numerous families, engaging in shoot-outs with the Army and gardaí.

Three of the gang were captured within days. The country was in lockdown but O’Hare was free until he was captured in a shoot-out with security forces. An accomplice was shot dead on November 27.

O’Hare served 17 years when he was released under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. The other gang members, Tony McNeill, Fergal Toal and Eddie Hogan served shorter terms.

The victims’ families suffered – David Darragh is adamant that it led to the premature death of his mother. John O’Grady died just over a year ago, Austin Darragh a short time previously. Dessie O’Hare is a free man.