Thatcher furious with Haughey over failure to extradite ‘mad priest’ over IRA claims
Taoiseach complained of PM’s ‘constant bickering’ after Fr Patrick Ryan arrest
File photo from September 1994 of former priest Patrick Ryan whose extradition to the UK had been sought by Margaret Thatcher’s government. Photograph: Martin McCullough/PA Wire
A furious British prime minister Margaret Thatcher rounded on taoiseach Charles Haughey for delays in extraditing Fr Patrick Ryan – an Irish priest wanted in London for alleged connections to the Provisional IRA – whom she described as a “bad egg” and a “very dangerous man”.
The delays caused a furore in Britain, with attorney general John Murray being excoriated in parliament and also by the press.