She started out as a fashion model earning two shilling and six pence an hour and ended up as a billionaire philanthropist who moved in royal circles. John Meagher tells the story of the Dubliner and retail matriarch, who died in recent days
Hilary Weston, the Irish model who became a global retail icon
For much of the 1980s, the IRA’s so-called ‘Action Men’ were at large. They specialised in kidnapping wealthy and high-profile people, with ransom money being used for the purchase of arms.
Supermarket magnate Ben Dunne had been kidnapped in 1981 while another retail kingpin, Don Tidey, suffered a similar fate in 1983. One of the most notorious kidnappings happened in 1986, with the capture of socialite Jennifer Guinness. All three survived their ordeal.
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