Bruce Croft Arnold (6 September 1936 – 2 May 2024) was an English journalist and author who lived in Ireland from 1957. His main expertise was in the fields of

literary criticism A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature's ...

and

art criticism Art criticism is the discussion or evaluation of visual art. Art critics usually criticize art in the context of aesthetics or the theory of beauty. A goal of art criticism is the pursuit of a rational basis for art appreciation but it is quest ...

. In 1983 it emerged that his telephone had been bugged by

Charles Haughey Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who led four governments as Taoiseach: December 1979 to June 1981, March to December 1982, March 1987 to June 1989, and June 1989 to February 1992 ...

in the Irish phone tapping scandal. He and the other bugged journalists were considered to have "anti-national" views.

Early life

Arnold was educated at Kingham Hill School and at

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

, where he graduated with a degree in modern languages (English and French) in 1960. His wife Mavis Arnold (née Ysabel Mavis Cleave) was also a journalist. They had two children, a son and a daughter. Arnold's older brother Guy Arnold was also an author, largely on African politics.

Journalism

Arnold worked for the main Irish newspapers based in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

– ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'' from 1965; ''

The Irish Press ''The Irish Press'' (irish language, Irish: ''Scéala Éireann'') was an Ireland, Irish national daily newspaper published by Irish Press plc between 5 September 1931 and 25 May 1995. History Foundation The paper's first issue was published o ...

'' and the '' Sunday Independent''. He also acted as Dublin correspondent of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. He edited ''Hibernia'' and the ''Dublin Magazine'' (1962–68; formerly ''The Dubliner'').

Death

Arnold died of pneumonia in the

Glenageary Glenageary ( ) is an area on the Southside, Dublin, Southside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. While it has no formal boundary, it is surrounded by the areas of Dalkey, Dún Laoghaire, Glasthule, Johnsto ...

area of Dublin, on 2 May 2024, at the age of 87.

Partial bibliography

Fiction

* ''A Singer at the Wedding'' (London: Hamish Hamilton 1978; rep. Abacus 1991); * ''The Song of the Nightingale'' (London: Hamish Hamilton 1980; rep. Abacus 1991); * ''The Muted Swan'' (London: Hamish Hamilton 1981; rep. Abacus 1991); * ''Running to Paradise'' (London: Hamish Hamilton 1983; rep. Abacus 1991).

Non-fiction

* ''A Concise History of Irish Art'' (London: Thames & Hudson, 1969; also New York: Praeger 1968) * '' Orpen: Mirror to an Age'' (London: Jonathan Cape, 1981) * ''What Kind of Country?'' (London: Jonathan Cape, 1984) * ''

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

: A Study in Power'' (London: Hamish Hamilton, 1984) * ''An Art Atlas of Britain and Ireland'' (London: Penguin/Viking, 1991) * ''Orpen: William Orpen 1878-1931'' (Dublin: Town House, 1991) "Lives of Irish Artists" series * ''The Scandal of Ulysses'' (London: Sinclair Stevenson 1991; New York: St. Martin's Press 1992; Dublin: Liffey 2005) * '' Mainie Jellett and the Modern Movement in Ireland'' (London: Yale UP 1991; New York: Yale UP, 1992) * ''Haughey: His Life and Unlucky Deeds'' (London: HarperCollins, 1993) * ''Swift: An Illustrated Life'' (Dublin: Lilliput, 1999) * ''The Spire and Other Essays on Modern Irish Culture'' (foreword by Charles Lysaght) (Dublin: Liffey Press 2003) * ''He That Is Down Need Fear No Fall'' (Ashfield Press, 2008) * ''The Fight for Democracy: The Libertas Voice in Europe'' (2009) (about the Libertas Institute) * ''The Irish Gulag: How the State Betrayed its Innocent Children'' (2009) (published just before the

Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse The Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (CICA) was one of a range of measures introduced by the Irish Government to investigate the extent and effects of abuse on children from 1936 onwards. Commencing its work in 1999, it was commonly known ...

report) * '' Derek Hill'' (2010) * ''The End of the Party'' with Jason O'Toole (Gill & MacMillan, 2011);

Film

* ''The Scandal of Ulysses; Images of Joyce'' * ''To Make it Live: Mainie Jellett 1897–1944''

Libretto

* ''A Passionate Man''

Awards

He was an honorary

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

, a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...

and an honorary member of the Royal Hibernian Academy. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

(UCD), and in the

2003 Birthday Honours The 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours were announced on 14 June 2003 for the United Kingdom and on 2 June 2003 for New Zealand. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour. United Kingdom Knight Bachelo ...

was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) for services to journalism and UK-Irish relations.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Arnold, Bruce 1936 births 2024 deaths Alumni of Trinity College Dublin English art critics English expatriates in Ireland English magazine editors English non-fiction writers English political writers Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Officers of the Order of the British Empire Honorary Fellows of Trinity College Dublin People associated with University College Dublin Sunday Independent (Ireland) people The Guardian journalists The Irish Press people The Irish Times people People educated at Kingham Hill School Writers from London English male non-fiction writers