In October 1975, Dutch businessman Dr. Tiede Herrema was kidnapped on his way to work in Limerick.

It became the longest kidnapping in Irish history and resulted in a dramatic stand off between the kidnappers and police which was dubbed the ‘Siege of Monasterevin’.

His abduction lasted 36 days and the story was closely followed by the world’s media.

Tiede was held captive during the height of the Troubles and he became a household name internationally.

It was the 3rd of October in 1975 and it began like just an average day for Tiede.

“This was a normal day I didn’t expect anything, they said do you know the name of the German ambassador? I said, why the German ambassador? I am a Dutchman.”

That was the first day of his 36 days in captivity, due to the media attention there was an increased level of pressure on the Gardai to locate him.

At the time it was known that this incident was linked to Republican style terrorism but the police couldn't find the hide out for weeks. 

We now know the perpetrators were Marian Coyle and Eddie Gallagher, who wished to trade Tiede with prisoners who were being held in Limerick.

They did not speak to him much in the beginning of the ordeal so Tiede was extremely unaware of what was going on, where they were going and what his kidnappers wanted.

When they moved him from their original hide out in Mountmellick in Laois to Monasterevin in Kildare, this is when the police caught up with the kidnappers.

The Gardai discovered where he was being kept and surrounded the house, the show down became known as the Siege of Monasterevin and it lasted 18 days.

Tiede refers to coming to Ireland as coming home, he and his wife were even made honorary Irish citizens.

However Tiede does feel that the ordeal was pointless in a way.

“I was free but we all failed, I failed, he failed, the police failed. We all lost.”

Newstalk's Genevieve Brennan spoke to Tiede, who is now 93 years old about what it was like to be one of Ireland’s most famous hostages on the Moncrieff show: