Rose Dugdale – Mná an IRA

Rose Dugdale has led an extraordinary life and her unexpected involvement in the IRA and subsequent imprisonment became headline news all around the world in the 1970s.

In this programme she tells the story of how and why she went from being a member of an aristocratic English family to becoming involved in the republican movement in Ireland. In 1974 she was incarcerated, while pregnant, for a botched bombing attempt in Strabane and an audacious art theft in Co. Wicklow. She gave birth in prison and later become one of the first republican prisoners to marry while in prison. She was released in 1980 and lives in Dublin.

This documentary series explores the involvement of women in active service with the IRA in modern times. It tells their personal stories and what impact their actions had on the conflict in Northern Ireland and on politics in the Republic. The series is part of The Loopline Collection Volume 2. To watch more of the collection click here.