Bruce Arnold, gifted writer and thorn in Charlie Haughey’s side, dies aged 87

Journalist was caught up in the phone tapping scandal in 1980s

Bruce Arnold, who has died at the age of 87, once wrote that he would never believe in the political demise of Charles Haughey until, like Dracula, he saw a stake driven through his heart.

In his time, he was one of the most significant, prolific, and trenchant political commentators in the country, with columns in the Irish Independent and the Sunday Independent.

He was also a talented writer and a valued political commentator on the drama of the era, leading to him being one of a number of journalists whose telephones were tapped by Haughey’s government in 1982.

His family said in a death notice published yesterday on RIP.ie: “Bruce was a man of integrity and talent. He was dedicated to his craft; he wrote brilliantly and with great insight and was always on a mission to make the world a better and more truthful place.

“Although he wore his Englishness with pride, he was devoted to Ireland which was his home for over 60 years. He will be remembered for his energy, vitality, and great sense of occasion.”

His funeral will take place in St Paul’s Church in Glenageary, Dublin, at noon on Monday.

He will be buried in the churchyard of St Anne’s Church, Knocknarea, Co Sligo, the following day.

A prolific writer, he is probably best remembered for his trenchant columns during the Haughey era, when the two men were, after once being friends, at opposite ends of the political spectrum.

He later wrote that he was “entangled in that [Haughey’s] career during three dramatic phases, the beginning, middle and end of his unsuccessful hunt for the absolute power he deliberately sought, and from which he was held back precariously”.

Before the Arms Crisis of 1970, Bruce Arnold wrote speeches for Haughey, mainly on the arts. “There was,” he wrote, “a certain private pleasure in hearing him deliver my words.”

“He was a graceful and charming man to be with,” he said of Haughey. But the parting of ways led to enmity developing between the two men, both of whom were very opinionated.

Arnold admitted he later wrote about Haughey with “caustic dismissal, about his poor judgment, fumbling mistakes and inability to win the overall majority he so longed for”.

But he also recognised that he was “unlucky”, with the 1981 Stardust tragedy stalling his first attempt at a general election, the hunger strikes which alienated republican elements inside and outside his party, and the general economic malaise that enveloped the country during the 1980s.

Arnold, as well as a trenchant commentator, was also a colourful writer, as both a journalist and author, and even today, his writing gives a vivid flavour of the times he lived through.

“The year 1982, for those who lived through it, was a bit like a Greek tragedy, with one disaster following another, and Haughey’s fingernail grip on power being loosened to the point of losing their ultimate hold.

“Haughey habitually used pretty dismissive language towards me, particularly during the November 1982 general election, when he tapped menacingly on a sheaf of papers beside him saying he ‘knew all about me’.”

By his own admission his last “Haughey scoop” was to put a political context on the Shay Healy Nighthawks programme – filmed in the Hell’s Kitchen pub in Castlerea, Co Roscommon, in January 1992.

During the programme, Fianna Fáil politician Seán Doherty effectively admitted Haughey had been kept informed about the 1982 tapping of journalists’ phones, which ultimately led to Haughey’s resignation.

Bruce Arnold was born in London in September 1936, one of five children. His father was a Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Navy and his “Englishness” – including getting an OBE – would later lead political opponents to brand him a “spy”, though he was nothing of the sort.

Arnold first came to Ireland in 1957 and enrolled in Trinity College Dublin to study English and French. Two years later, he married Mavis Cleave and they had three children.

He began his journalism career in the Irish Times in 1961 where he worked as a sub-editor, before moving to The Guardian and later going freelance, covering a broad spectrum of issues, including politics, art, literature and the theatre.

He later returned to Ireland and worked for several publications, including Hibernia magazine and Business & Finance.

His novels, believed to be largely autobiographical, included A Singer at the Wedding, The Song of the Nightingale and The Muted Swan.

He was appointed a fellow of Trinity College and the Royal Society of Literature. He was also a member of the Royal Hibernian Academy and was awarded an honorary doctorate from University College Dublin.

After his “official” retirement, Arnold continued to write movingly and in depth about the scandals of sexual abuse and mother and baby homes run by the Catholic Church.

“There were so many dimensions to the man, as a journalist, commentator and writer,” a friend said. “He was good company and enjoyed the company of other journalists and politicians.”

President Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina offered their “sincere condolences” to Mr Arnold’s family and his “many friends”.

Arnold was pre-deceased by his wife, who died in 2017.

‘He wrote he’d never believe in Haughey’s political demise until, like Dracula, he saw a stake driven through his heart’