Malcolm MacArthur affair
Malcolm MacArthur | |
|---|---|
| Born | 17 April 1945 Dublin, Ireland |
| Criminal status | Released |
| Motive | Robbery |
| Criminal charge | Murder |
| Penalty | Life imprisonment |
| Details | |
| Victims | 2 |
| Date | 22–25 July 1982 |
| Country | Ireland |
| Weapons | Hammer, 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.