"There was blood everywhere" - Why the IRA kidnapped the prodigy Shergar

Winter nights in Ireland are often cold and foggy, like the perfect backdrop for a thriller. Just like the night in February 1983 when masked and armed men kidnapped a horse. Not just any, but a legend during his lifetime: Shergar, worth at least 11.5 million euros at today's exchange rate. Even 40 years later, the Irish thoroughbred stallion, who won the biggest races in England and Ireland by up to twelve lengths, has disappeared without a trace. Certainly long dead.

The Irish, on the other hand, have vivid memories of their “miracle horse”. His story is "so bizarre and shameful an episode in Ireland's past that it only makes sense when set against the incredible scenes and ecstatic jubilation of his immortal season," Keith Duggan recently wrote in the Irish Times newspaper “.

The journalist was referring to scenes like this: "You need a telescope to see the rest of the field." BBC radio presenter Peter Bromley exclaimed as Shergar and his 19-year-old jockey Walter Swinburn on 3 June 1981 by ten horse lengths won the famous Epsom Derby. Runner-up John Matthias said he briefly thought he was the winner at the end of the two-kilometre distance - because Shergar had long since disappeared over the hill past the finish line.

The British-trained “miracle horse” had previously taken three first places and one second place in four races in England. The ten-length lead Shergar then ran at Epsom remains the largest in the history of the race to date. Owner Karim al-Husseini, better known as Aga Khan IV, sold shares in the horse after the win, raising him £10m and formed an ownership syndicate.

The kidnappers, most likely members of the Catholic-Republican terrorist group IRA, were apparently unaware of this. According to all assumptions, the nationalists, who fought for the reunification of Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland in the decades-long civil war, hoped that Shergar would bring much-needed income for their "campaign".

The 1980s were a difficult time in Ireland, both economically and politically. Shergar's success represented something "even more priceless (than its monetary value): an uncomplicated Irish success story," according to journalist Duggan.

The reality was grim: Ireland's economy was so ailing that the biggest TV entertainment show ran a special on emigration. The Boomtown Rats released an album entitled Banana Republic. In fact, many Irish people saw their country – corrupt and unstable – as a banana republic itself.

During these times, Shergar galloped into the hearts of the populace. After two more victories at The Curragh in Ireland and Ascot in England, and a surprisingly poor fourth place at Doncaster, Shergar was allowed to retire – at Ballymany Stud in County Kildare. As well as being an emotional anchor for many in Ireland, Shergar was also a valuable commodity from a purely commercial point of view: it cost £80,000 to breed.

On the night of February 8, 1983, masked men took head groom Jim Fitzgerald from his home and forced him to identify Shergar - there were few security measures, the kidnapping was easy. Because the horse was being sold at a nearby auction house at the same time, the police had no chance of tracking down the kidnappers. Fitzgerald was let go. But the kidnappers and their four-legged hostage remained missing.

Although the operation bore the IRA's signature, the terror group never officially claimed responsibility. However, Sean O'Callaghan, a former IRA commander and police informer, spoke about the details: Because most owners in the syndicate were well insured, the ransom demand of two million pounds did not fall on fertile ground. The kidnappers didn't think of that.

The second mistake was particularly tragic: the kidnappers had underestimated how complicated a thoroughbred stallion is to handle. According to O'Callaghan, the agitated horse severely injured its leg while being loaded. Under pressure from the extensive police presence, the kidnappers panicked. Instead of releasing Shergar, they would have shot the animal. "There was blood everywhere," O'Callaghan told the Irish Times, "the horse slipped on its own blood. There was a lot of cursing and scolding because the horse didn't want to die. It was a very bloody death.”

Though Shergar was believed to be dead, the perpetrators -- or free riders -- kept trying to demand ransom. Always unsuccessful. The stallion has never been found and his remains have never been found.

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