PRESIDENT Michael D Higgins has offered tributes following the death of Dutch businessman Tiede Herrema, who was kidnapped and held hostage by the IRA for over a month in 1975.
Dr Herrema, who was 99, is remembered in Ireland for being kidnapped in Limerick while leaving his Ferenka factory, which manufactured steel chord and was the city's biggest employer at the time.
The IRA had demanded the release of three Republican prisoners in exchange for Dr Herrema's release, and following a major security operation, the kidnappers were tracked to a house in Co Kildare and their hostage released.
Following their ordeal, Dr Herrema and his wife Elisabeth were offered honorary Irish citizenship, and were regular visitors to Áras an Uachtaráin in the years since.
Dr Herrema's wife Elisabeth passed away earlier this month.
"Dr Herrema, who had endured such a traumatic kidnapping, harboured no bitterness towards his abductors and had maintained a very strong bond with Ireland," President Higgins said, adding: "They will be missed, and fondly remembered by their many friends in Ireland."
