Ictu boss Owen Reidy: My mum was relieved the Provisional IRA took us hostage in the 1970s, not loyalists

Owen Reidy, the general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu), has shared deeply personal reflections on his family's experiences during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. In a candid interview, Reidy recounted a particularly harrowing incident where his family became hostages of the Provisional IRA.

He revealed a startling sentiment from his mother during that traumatic event: she expressed relief that the captors were the Provisional IRA and not loyalist paramilitaries. This statement underscores the complex and often terrifying sectarian dynamics of the conflict, where affiliation with one group over another could be perceived, however grimly, as a lesser evil.

Reidy also touched upon his family's long-standing connection to the trade union movement, a legacy that has shaped his own career. He further detailed the impact of an IRA bank raid on his family, an event that clearly left a lasting impression. These personal anecdotes provide a stark backdrop to his current role, highlighting the personal cost of the conflict and the deep roots of his engagement with issues of labor and social justice in Ireland.

“

My mum was relieved the Provisional IRA took us hostage in the 1970s, not loyalists