DUBLIN — 1982 · Murder
The GUBU Affair — Phoenix Park Murder
On 22 July 1982 a 27-year-old nurse who had parked to sunbathe in Dublin's Phoenix Park was attacked by a man who wanted her car; she died in hospital four days later. Days afterwards the same man killed a farmer at Edenderry, County Offaly. His arrest on 13 August 1982 at the apartment of Ireland's Attorney General, where he had been staying as a guest, caused a major political scandal and the Attorney General resigned. Taoiseach Charles Haughey's description of events as 'grotesque, unbelievable, bizarre and unprecedented' gave rise to the acronym 'GUBU'. The killer pleaded guilty in January 1983 and was sentenced to life; he was released in 2012.
- Date
- 1982
- Place
- Phoenix Park, Ireland, Dublin, IE
- Category
- Murder
- Case Status
- Solved
- Coordinates
- 53.3559, -6.3298 ↗
Timeline of Events
- 22 July 1982A nurse was attacked in Phoenix Park; she died four days later.
- July 1982The killer murdered a farmer at Edenderry.
- 13 August 1982He was arrested at the Attorney General's apartment; a political scandal erupted.
- January 1983He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life.
- 2012He was released after thirty years.
Sources
- Wikipedia — Malcolm MacArthur affair en.wikipedia.org ↗
- RTÉ Brainstorm — GUBU: a Taoiseach, a murderer and a political scandal rte.ie ↗
- TheJournal.ie — The original GUBU thejournal.ie ↗
- Wikipedia
- RTÉ Brainstorm
- TheJournal.ie
Source grade A: several independent sources, at least one an official record or reference work. If you spot a mistake or something missing, report it with "Suggest a correction" in the app.
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🕯️ This record was prepared with respect, in memory of those who lost their lives.