On The Brinks

The incredible true life story of Sam Millar, from his childhood in Belfast to membership of the IRA, time spent in Long Kesh internment camps and carrying out the $7 million Brinks heist, one of the biggest robberies in U.S. history. Subject of RTE Documentary on One: The Seven Million Dollar Man.

‘Brilliant’

Irish Examiner

‘… one of the most revealing and powerful memoirs you will ever read.’

New York Journal of Books

Born in republican West Belfast, to a Protestant father and Catholic mother, Sam Millar was destined for a turbulent life. Swept up in the republican struggle, he was soon incarcerated in the brutal Maze prison, where he took part in the notorious Battle of Long Kesh and spent years enduring the harrowing, subhuman conditions of the blanket protests.

On his release, Millar moved to New York and entered a world of illicit gambling and armed gangsters. There he masterminded one of the most daring bloodless heists ever – the Brinks Armoured Car Depot robbery in Rochester, New York.

Millions upon millions of dollars were sitting there, just waiting for the right person to pick them up …

‘Hollywood couldn’t have done it better.’

Irish Voice

‘Breathtakingly honest … a compelling tour de force …’

Irish News

‘One of the biggest robberies in US history’

New York Times

‘On The Brinks deals with human suffering and endurance which is so horrific it makes it hard to believe that it actually happened.’

The Voice

‘Security guards told the police that they were surprised by assailants who had somehow evaded the sophisticated security system. They could not say how many robbers there were…it appears to be one of the biggest robberies in U.S. history.’

New York Times, front page

In 1993 $7.4 million was stolen from the Brink’s Armored Car Depot in Rochester, New York, the fifth largest robbery in US history. Sam Millar was a member of the gang who carried out the robbery. He was caught, found guilty and incarcerated, before being set free by Bill Clinton's government as an essential part of the Northern Ireland Peace Process.

This remarkable book is Sam's story, from his childhood in Belfast, membership of the IRA, time spent in Long Kesh internment camps and the Brinks heist and aftermath. Unputdownable.