Joy and relief as kidnappers free Gena

Irish missionary and eight others released after orphanage snatch

- BY CATHAL RYAN

AN IRISH missionary who was among nine people kidnapped from an orphanage in Haiti has been released, it has been confirmed.

Gena Heraty, from Westport in Co Mayo, is the director of the Sainte-Helene orphanage in the commune of Kenscoff, which is 10km southeast of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince.

Kenscoff Mayor Masillon Jean said Ms Heraty, seven other employees and a three-year-old child were taken from the orphanage.

Ms Heraty has been living in Haiti for over 30 years. She left in 1993 on a six-month placement that turned into a lifetime of commitment.

In a statement yesterday, the Heraty family said: "We are so delighted to be able to share that Gena, and all those taken with her, have been released following their kidnapping on 3 August, 2025, from the St Helene property in Kenscoff, Haiti.