The book moves chronologically through O’Flaherty’s life, focusing most closely on the war years. With true Irish storytelling flair, Gallagher makes Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican read like a novel. This, plus much research and many other interviews with people who knew, helped, or were helped by the priest, became the basis for Gallagher’s book, Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican, published in the late sixties. After much pleading on the reporter’s part, the reluctant Monsignor was persuaded to give one interview. The name stuck.Īfter the war, Gallagher continued to be intrigued by the story. In one feature the reporter dubbed O’Flaherty the “Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican,” after the fictional hero of a popular adventure series by novelist Emma Orczy. Gallagher first heard about Hugh O’Flaherty while covering the war front, and was largely responsible for bringing the Monsignor’s story to the attention of the world at large.
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