Obituary | The militant debutante

Rose Dugdale went from debutante to IRA bombmaker

The heiress and IRA militant died on March 18th, aged 82

Rose Dugdale on release from prison, October 11th 1980
Photograph: Alamy

Her hair was curled. Her skin was powdered. Her white organdie gown had been tailor-made by the House of Worth. Her gloves, as all debutantes’ must, reached to the elbow. Her posture was from Miss Ironside’s School for Girls in Kensington (“Shoulders back! Stand up straight! Speak clearly!”). Rose Dugdale—heiress, debutante, beauty—was very well put together.

This article appeared in the Obituary section of the print edition under the headline “Rose Dugdale”

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