The Heiress and the Heist

This series will focus on the story of Rose Dugdale, the English heiress who abandoned her life of privilege to join the IRA and was the mastermind behind some of the most audacious and radical schemes of 1974. The series\' timeline will shape Rose\'s transformation as a revolutionary -from her early childhood in Devon to the time she spent in Limerick Prison- and will include historical events and the social upheavals that affected England, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland from the late 1960s to mid-1970s. The focus of the series is the Russborough House heist from 1974, which was largely orchestrated by Dugdale who acted as the brains of the operation, selecting which paintings were to be stolen at the time of the robbery. The immediate aftermath of the crime is relayed by key witness testimonies, including the crime correspondents who reported the story and the police officer who made the detection and arrest of Dugdale in Cork with the 19 paintings. The series makes the most of the scenic rural and coastal landscapes that are to be found in West Cork. Captivating drone shots of the town and the cottage where Dugdale was found serve to establish this contrasting terrain and peaceful atmosphere, in comparison to the violence and chaos from the north.