Hugh O'Flaherty: his wartime adventures

Hugh O'Flaherty was an ordinary man who did extraordinary things.

A Kerryman who loved sport, he was cheerful and full of energy.

He was in Rome in 1939 when the Second World War broke out and when Mussolini sided with Hitler.

From his safe base in the Vatican, he developed a network of contacts, including donors of money and food, to help escaped prisoners of war and others whose lives were in danger. - But the work was very dangerous, especially when he ventured out in disguise.

This earned him the nickname 'the Pimpernel of the Vatican'.