Malcolm MacArthur affair

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"Malcolm MacArthur" redirects here. For the Australian rugby union player, see Malcolm McArthur.

Malcolm MacArthur
Born (1945-04-17) 17 April 1945 (age 80)
Criminal statusReleased
MotiveRobbery
Criminal chargeMurder
PenaltyLife imprisonment
Details
Victims2
Date22–25 July 1982
CountryIreland
WeaponsHammer, shotgun
Date apprehended
13 August 1982

The Malcolm MacArthur affair was a double-murder and political scandal in Ireland in 1982. On 22 July, MacArthur fatally attacked a young nurse, Bridie Gargan, in the Phoenix Park in Dublin. Three days later, he killed a farmer, Dónal Dunne, at Edenderry in County Offaly.

A major manhunt ensued; on 13 August, MacArthur was apprehended by Gardaí at the home of the Attorney General, Patrick Connolly, in Dalkey in south Dublin. Connolly was an acquaintance of MacArthur's. Although Connolly was not involved in the killings, the incident created a political scandal, and led to Connolly's resignation. A speech by the Taoiseach, Charles Haughey, in which he described the incident as "a bizarre happening, an unprecedented situation, a grotesque situation, an almost unbelievable mischance" was paraphrased as "grotesque, unbelievable, bizarre and unprecedented", leading Conor Cruise O'Brien to coin the acronym "GUBU", which came to characterise Haughey's 1982 government.

MacArthur pleaded guilty to the murder of Gargan and was sentenced to life in prison in January 1983. He was not tried for the killing of Dunne. He was released in 2012.

Background

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Malcolm Edward MacArthur was born on 17 April 1945 to an affluent family who owned a 180-acre farm near Trim, County Meath.[1] His parents separated while he was young and he went to live in the United States with an uncle before graduating from the University of California, Davis. He returned to Ireland in the late 1960s.[1] MacArthur was perceived by those who knew him to be academically inclined and socially inhibited. He ran in bohemian circles in Dublin, wearing bow-ties and fawn-coloured corduroy jackets which gave him a reputation as an intelligent eccentric.[2] MacArthur had a partner, Brenda Little, and together they had had a son in 1975. It was through Little that MacArthur became acquainted with Patrick Connolly.[2]

Killings

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MacArthur did not have a job, as he lived off his IR£70,000 inheritance (the equivalent of almost €900,000 in 2023) from the sale of his father's farm after the latter's death in 1971.[3] However, as his money ran out, MacArthur decided to fund his lifestyle by robbery. First he decided to purchase a gun and responded to an advertisement by Dónal Dunne, a farmer in Edenderry, County Offaly, who had a shotgun for sale. However, having no transport and needing to get from Dublin to Edenderry, he decided to steal a car.

The Phoenix Park in 2019

On 22 July 1982, a nurse named Bridie Gargan (aged 27) had been sunbathing in the Phoenix Park in Dublin during her time off work. MacArthur, intending to steal her car, bludgeoned her with a hammer. In the ensuing confusion, MacArthur drove off, leaving the dying Gargan on the back seat.

At this point a passing ambulance became involved and escorted MacArthur to the hospital, as the driver mistook him for a doctor because of a windscreen sticker which Gargan had. MacArthur later abandoned the car nearby. Three days later, having hitch-hiked to Edenderry and spent a night sleeping under a bridge, MacArthur visited the farmer Dónal Dunne and murdered him with his own shotgun after examining it.[4] MacArthur then stole Dunne's car and drove it to Dublin. These two violent murders created a sensation, as unmotivated murder in Ireland, coupled with the youth and respectability of the nurse and farmer, was an unusual set of circumstances. At first, the Gardaí regarded the two incidents as unrelated, but the fact that in both cases the murderer had escaped in the victim's car created a tenuous link.[5]

On 4 August, MacArthur attempted to rob Harry Bieling, a former American diplomat, at gunpoint at his home in Killiney. Bieling escaped on foot and notified Gardaí, but did not know MacArthur's name. A man operating a newspaper stand in Monkstown tipped off Gardaí that one of his customers fit the description of Bridie Gargan's killer. Gardaí questioned Bieling, now believing that his robbery and the Gargan murder were linked; they also believed it might be linked to the homophobic murder of Charles Self, which had occurred in Monkstown earlier that year.[6]

Arrest, political scandal and "GUBU"

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MacArthur was acquainted with Patrick Connolly, the Attorney General, the chief legal advisor to the Irish Government. On 4 August 1982, he arrived at Connolly's apartment in Dalkey looking for somewhere to stay. From the Attorney General's home, MacArthur called Bieling and told him the attempted robbery had been a practical joke; he then telephoned Dalkey Garda station to tell them the same thing. Now the Gardaí knew MacArthur's name, but did not know his whereabouts. MacArthur had previously stayed at a flat occupied by Connolly in Donnybrook; Gardaí interrogated the owner of the flat, who confirmed the link between the two men.[7]

On 13 August, after a massive search, MacArthur was arrested in connection with the robbery of Bieling on the private property of Connolly, where he had been staying for some time as a guest. It was only after MacArthur had been led away by officers that Connolly was told that he was also wanted in connection with the murder of Gargan. This astonished Connolly, who feared the prospect of telling MacArthur's partner and mother.[8] Connolly, who had been getting ready for holiday, continued on his journey to the United States and did not give any interview to the Gardaí on the matter.[7] MacArthur confessed to the murders of Gargan and Dunne while in custody.[9]

Charles Haughey, Taoiseach at the time of the controversy, in 1983

The Department of Justice was not informed of the link between Connolly and the arrest. Once the link emerged, the Taoiseach, Charles Haughey, demanded that Connolly return to Ireland from London, where he was having a stop-over.[10] Connolly refused, and flew to New York on Sunday; that day, the story dominated the front pages of the Irish newspapers.[11] Connolly was besieged by reporters in New York, and by Monday night, he had left the US on Concorde and returned to Dublin, where he was asked to resign.[12] Haughey attempted to distance himself from the fiasco and described the event as "a bizarre happening, an unprecedented situation, a grotesque situation, an almost unbelievable mischance."

The corresponding acronym was coined by Conor Cruise O'Brien, and both it and the phrase are still occasionally used in Irish political discourse to describe other notorious scandals.[13] In January 2011 some ministerial resignations from the Government were described by its opponent Michael Noonan as "... bizarre, grotesque and to some extent unbelievable."[14]

Prosecution and imprisonment

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MacArthur admitted his guilt to both charges, but the Dunne case was harder to prosecute because there were no witnesses. Because of this, he was not tried for Dunne's murder (or the Bieling robbery, or possession of a firearm) as the state entered a plea of nolle prosequi to the other charges in exchange for a commitment that MacArthur would not appeal a life sentence for Gargan's murder.[15] This led to a petition of 10,000 signatures to ensure MacArthur would be tried for his murder. This was unsuccessful and MacArthur received a life sentence for just one murder.

In 2003 the parole board recommended that MacArthur be put on a temporary release programme which would eventually lead to his release. Michael McDowell, the Minister for Justice, who was also a member of MacArthur's defence team in the murder trial, decided that he would take no part in the decision for fear of a conflict of interest.[16]

In July 2004 it was decided to keep MacArthur in prison, as relatives – including his mother – considered him dangerous.

MacArthur was allowed to spend Christmas Day 2005 with a relative outside prison and was also allowed a five-hour Christmas parole in 2006.[17]

MacArthur was released from Shelton Abbey Prison in September 2012.[18]

Legacy

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Mark O'Connell's nonfiction book A Thread of Violence tells the story of the MacArthur murders.[19]

MacArthur's story inspired John Banville's 1989 novel, The Book of Evidence.

GUBU was also the name of a bar on Capel Street in Dublin in the early part of the 2000s.[20]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Joyce & Murtagh (1983), p. 213.
  2. ^ a b Joyce & Murtagh (1983), p. 214.
  3. ^ "'Why I might have done what I did': conversations with Ireland's most notorious murderer". The Guardian. 20 June 2023.
  4. ^ Joyce & Murtagh (1983), pp. 216–7.
  5. ^ Joyce & Murtagh (1983), p. 217.
  6. ^ Joyce & Murtagh (1983), pp. 218–23.
  7. ^ a b Joyce & Murtagh (1983), pp. 221–3.
  8. ^ Joyce & Murtagh (1983), p. 226.
  9. ^ Joyce & Murtagh (1983), p. 227.
  10. ^ Joyce & Murtagh (1983), pp. 228–9.
  11. ^ Joyce & Murtagh (1983), p. 229.
  12. ^ Joyce & Murtagh (1983), p. 232.
  13. ^ Irish Parliamentary Debates Archived 17 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine — usage of the term "GUBU" in Dáil and Seanad debates.
  14. ^ RTE news downloaded 21 January 2011 Archived 21 January 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ Joyce & Murtagh (1983), pp. 234–5.
  16. ^ McArthur recommended for prison transfer Archived 28 October 2004 at the Wayback Machine — RTÉ News article, 30 August 2002.
  17. ^ "Macarthur to be given temporary Christmas release". Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 23 December 2006.
  18. ^ "'Why I might have done what I did': conversations with Ireland's most notorious murderer". The Guardian. 20 June 2023.
  19. ^ Doyle, Rob (25 June 2023). "A Thread of Violence by Mark O'Connell review – a masterpiece of murkiness". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  20. ^ "£2.5 million sought for city centre Gubu Bar". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2020.

Sources

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  • Joyce, Joe; Murtagh, Peter (1983). The Boss: Charles J. Haughey in Government. Dublin: Poolbeg Press. ISBN 0905169697.
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