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Matthew Hart

The Irish Game: A True Story of Crime and Art Hardcover – May 1, 2004

by Matthew Hart (Author)

4.5 31 ratings

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In the annals of art theft, no case has matched―for sheer criminal panache―the heist at Ireland's Russborough House in 1986.

The Irish police knew right away that the mastermind was a Dublin gangster named Martin Cahill. Yet the great plunder ―including a Gainsborough, a Goya, two Rubenses, and a Vermeer― remained at large for years. Cahill taunted the police with a string of other crimes, but in the end it was the paintings that brought him low. The challenge of disposing of such famous works forced him to reach outside his familiar world into the international arena, and when he did, his pursuers were waiting.

The movie-perfect sting that broke Cahill uncovered an astonishing maze of banking and drug-dealing connections that redefined the way police view art theft. As if that were not enough, the recovery of the Vermeer―by then worth $200 million―led to a remarkable discovery about the way Vermeer achieved his photographic perspective.

The Irish Game places the great theft in Ireland's long sad history of violence and follows the thread that led, as a direct result of Cahill's desperate adventures with the Russborough art, to his assassination by the IRA. With the storytelling skill of a novelist and the instincts of a detective, Matthew Hart follows the twists and turns of this celebrated case, linking it with two other world-famous thefts―of Vermeer's "The Concert" and other famous paintings at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, and of Edvard Munch's "The Scream" at the National Gallery of Norway in Oslo. Sharply observed, fully explored, The Irish Game is a masterpiece in the literature of true crime.

Print length

224 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Walker Books
Publication date

May 1, 2004
Dimensions

6.22 x 0.94 x 8.68 inches
ISBN-10

0802714269
ISBN-13

978-0802714268
See all details

Robert K. Wittman
1,071
Hardcover
86 offers from $1.57
Joshua Knelman
53
Paperback
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Anthony M. Amore
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this engaging account of how stolen paintings have become collateral in the international drug trade, starting with the 1974 theft of a priceless Vermeer from an Irish estate, British author Hart (Diamond: A Journey to the Heart of an Obsession) offers a convincing revisionist view of the closest thing the book has to a protagonist, legendary Irish thug Martin Cahill (aka "The General"). The case that the "slovenly, loyal, suspicious, immovable" Cahill was no mastermind, however, tends to render the narrative more prosaic than dramatic, as does the argument that most heists, including the sensational 1990 robbery from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the 1994 theft of Edvard Munch's The Scream, involved more chutzpah and embarrassing security lapses than Topkapi-like planning. The author's primary strength lies in his character portraits-he describes one upper-class art thief as rooting around "in the issues of the day like someone picking through a bin for a hat that would fit." The dedicated Irish police who tracked these criminals and attempted numerous stings to recover the paintings deserve credit for their heroism, but they aren't particularly memorable. Still, Hart sheds light on a little-known area of modern crime that should be of interest to many general readers.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

British journalist Hart, author of Diamond: A Journey into the Heart of an Obsession (2001), continues his investigation into criminal covetousness in a set of brisk and fascinating accounts of international art heists, including the 1994 snatching of Edvard Munch's The Scream. He primarily focuses on two brazen assaults on Russborough, an isolated Irish estate with an improbably stupendous art collection, which included Vermeer's Lady Writing a Letter with Her Maid. The first occurred in 1974, orchestrated not by an archcriminal but by an inept, IRA-supporting British heiress. A dozen years later, a true outlaw, Martin Cahill, made off with the Russborough masterpieces and sent the authorities on a maddening quest. Hart vividly portrays colorful characters on both sides of the law, and vigorously chronicles complex investigations and two stunning discoveries pertaining to the so-called Irish Vermeer in a lively chronicle that arouses both wry admiration for the sheer gall of art thieves and outrage at the thought of irreplaceable art treasures in the hands of thugs, many seeking nothing more than collateral for drug deals. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Walker Books; First Edition (May 1, 2004)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0802714269
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0802714268
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.22 x 0.94 x 8.68 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,792,890 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #303 in Art Antiques & Collectibles
- #2,763 in Collections, Catalogs & Exhibitions
- #18,610 in True Crime (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.5 31 ratings

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Michael Taylor

Better than fiction

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 1, 2013

Verified Purchase

I read this book in hard-copy a long time ago, and had to get it for the Kindle. What happens to these Grand Masters, stolen to much media fanfare? Is there really some eccentric art-lover who has them stolen to order, so that he can gloat and drool in the privacy of his vault? The answer is much more prosaic. The going rate for stolen goods that are fenced is about 11%, so if you have a stolen painting that is touted by the newspapers as worth "two million dollars", you can use it as collateral for a $220,000 drug/guns buy. So these paintings just disappear into an underworld demi-monde, being passed from criminal hand to hand, in token payment. Or sometimes they're turned in for the insurance, "somebody I know told me......"
The world's major police forces have specialist units, who follow lead, and make sting purchases, and happily this Vermeer, "Lady Writing a Letter", is now back in the National Gallery in Dublin........until next time?

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Joseph Hoffman

Irish Art theft and Recovery with Rascals on both sides

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 28, 2018

Verified Purchase

This book was a very satisfying read. Thank you to the author. Thanks to the clever police units from Ireland to England to the Netherlands and to Norway. What an amazing mix of characters that all stumble through avarice by the blind sight of ego.

2 people found this helpful

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lisalovesboston

Excellent Read!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 21, 2020

Verified Purchase

Great reading and informative but still piques your interest along the way.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 29, 2013

Verified Purchase

The Irish Game was enjoyable on many levels. I liked the whole art scene in the early 1900s and than you couple that with real bad guys, art thieves and you have a fun read. The book does a good job of telling how art becomes collateral in the exploits of one Irish crook.

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Carol M Tew

The Irish Game: A True Story of Crime and Art keeps you guessing

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 28, 2014

Verified Purchase

This is a very interesting account of great art thieves. The details are incredible. Detectives would really like this book.

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RICHARD

Art & Mystery Combined

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 12, 2014

Verified Purchase

This book is definitely for art lovers & Mystery lovers and is a great read. Learn why high profile art theft is about more than just the artist. Also learn about the intricacies of art restoration. Sting operation are always fun too.

Richard

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Kindle Customer

A Ho-Hum book rather slow and tedious

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 29, 2017

Verified Purchase

True story of crime and eventually punishment. I prefer stories that move along more quickly than this one did!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 21, 2014

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Well researched, intriguing read of international art crimes and their investigations.

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Top reviews from other countries

BCW

Fascinating Narrative About Art Theft

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on April 28, 2018

Verified Purchase

Great book. Mr. Hart is a great writer.

John O'Hara

Reads like a fast paced novel

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 23, 2013

Verified Purchase

Article in good condition - great information and research. Will seek out Matthew's book on the diamond market. Can be read agzin and again.

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