Conor Cruise O'Brien
Encyclopedia
Conor Cruise O'Brien often nicknamed "The Cruiser", was an Irish
politician, writer, historian and academic. Although his opinion on the role of Britain in Northern Ireland changed over the course of the 1970s and 1980s, he always acknowledge values of, as he saw, the two irreconcilable traditions. O'Brien's outlook was radical, yet his career veered from to left to right wing; he was interested in the progress of South Africa, yet in later years took a pro-Israel stance. He summarised his position as "I intend to administer a shock to the Irish psyche
".
O'Brien began his career as a civil servant working on the government's anti-partition
campaign. At the 1969 general election
, he was elected to Ireland's parliament
as a Labour Party
TD
for Dublin North East
becoming a Minister from 1973–77. He was also the Labour Party's Northern Ireland spokesman during those years. He was later known primarily as a journalist and leading columnist in the Irish Independent
.
and Irish Independent
newspapers, and had edited an essay written fifty years earlier by William Lecky
, on the influence of the clergy on Irish politics. Kathleen was an Irish language
teacher and daughter of David Sheehy
, a member of the Irish Parliamentary Party
and organizer of the Irish National Land League
. She had three sisters, all of whom lost their husbands in 1916. These included Hanna
, wife of murdered pacifist
Francis Sheehy-Skeffington
, and Mary, wife of Thomas Kettle
, an officer of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers who died during the Battle of the Somme.
O'Brien's father (who died in 1927) requested his wife have his son educated in a non-denominational school. O'Brien was sent to Sandford Park School
, despite the objections of the Catholic clergy. O'Brien subsequently attended Trinity College Dublin which, like Sandford Park, was neither Catholic nor nationalist
in ethos. O'Brien was editor of Trinity's weekly, TCD: A College Miscellany. His first wife was Christine Foster, who came from a Belfast
Presbyterian family. They were married in a registry office in 1939, which was contrary to Catholic teachings. O'Brien had three children with Christine Foster — Donal, Fedelma, and Kathleen (Kate)
, who died in 1998. The marriage ended in divorce after 20 years. In 1962, he married the Irish-language writer and poet Máire Mhac an tSaoi
. She was five years his junior, and the daughter of former TD and Tánaiste
, Seán MacEntee
. They adopted a son (Patrick) and a daughter (Margaret).
O'Brien's university education led to a series of appointments in the public service, most notably in the Department of External Affairs (now Foreign Affairs). He became something of an anomalous iconoclast in post-1922 Irish politics, particularly in the context of Éamon de Valera
's Fianna Fáil
government. He considered that those who did not conform to traditional Catholic mores
were generally not suited to the public service. In the Department of External Affairs, O'Brien served as a diplomat under the pro-physical force republican
, Seán MacBride
, the Nobel Peace
Laureate of 1974. MacBride was the son of John MacBride
and Maud Gonne
. O'Brien was particularly vocal on the anti-partition
issue during the 1940s.
, Secretary General of the United Nations, when, in 1961, Katanga
tried to secede
from what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo
. Under pressure from a range of international interests, he eventually resigned and wrote To Katanga and Back (1962) which is still considered a classic of both modern African history and the inner workings of the United Nations. From 1962 to 1965 he was Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana
. His interpretation of academic freedom differed from that of the Chancellor,and leader of the country Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. Dr. o'Brien resigned.[Jordan Anthony J. To Laugh or to Weep - A biographyof Conor Cruise O'Brien , Blackwater Press 1994. p. 76-78] Following this he was the first Albert Schweitzer
Professor of Humanities at New York University
until 1969.
was elected to Dáil Éireann
as a member of the Labour Party, representing the Dublin North East
constituency together with three other TD
s, including Charles Haughey
. He was appointed a member of the short-lived first delegation
from the Oireachtas
to the European Parliament. Following the 1973 general election, O'Brien was appointed Minister for Posts & Telegraphs
in the coalition Cosgrave government
. During this period he developed a deep hostility to militant Irish republicanism
. He extended and vigorously enforced censorship of the media, banning members of Sinn Féin
and the Provisional Irish Republican Army
from being interviewed on Irish radio or television (Section 31). At the same time, he attempted to get Britain's BBC 1 television channel broadcast on Ireland's proposed second television channel.
An incident was to mar O'Brien's career as minister and in particular his attitude towards free speech. Bernard Nossitier of the Washington Post interviewed O'Brien in August 1976 regarding the passage of the Emergency Powers Bill. During the course of the interview O'Brien revealed that he had intentions other than those stated in the bill. He claimed that he wished to "cleanse the culture" of republicanism. He stated that he would've liked the bill to be used against teachers who glorified Irish revolutionaries and against newspaper editors who published letters in support of Republicans. During the interview he mentioned the Irish Press as a newspaper which he hoped to use this bill against. Nossiter then informed Tim Pat Coogan
who was the editor of the Irish Press. Coogan printed the interview and a number of strong editorials attacking the bill. The interview caused huge controversy and a highly modified version of the bill was passed, which dropped the proposal to extend sanctions to newspapers.
O'Brien's attitude towards Garda
brutality in this period has been remarked upon. In his book, he recalls a conversation with a detective who told him how the Gardaí had found out – from a suspect – the location of businessman Tiede Herrema
, who had been kidnapped by the IRA in October 1975: "[T]he escort started asking him questions and when at first he refused to answer, they beat the shit out of him. Then he told them where Herrema was." O'Brien explained, "I refrained from telling this story to Garret
[FitzGerald] or Justin
[Keating], because I thought it would worry them. It didn’t worry me." The elements of the Garda Síochána that engaged in beating suspects later became known as the "Heavy Gang".
His stance caused controversy within and outside the government. His Dublin North East constituency was abolished and in the 1977 general election
he stood unsuccessfully in Dublin Clontarf
. He was, however, subsequently elected to Seanad Éireann
(1977 to 1979).
's United Kingdom Unionist Party and was elected to the Northern Ireland Forum
. He later resigned from UKUP after publishing an extract from his book Memoir: My Life and Themes in which he called on Unionists to consider the benefits of a united Ireland
to thwart Sinn Féin. In 2005 he rejoined the Labour Party. He was widely regarded as a hate figure amongst Republicans. He defended his harshness towards extreme nationalists by saying," We do right to condemn all violence but we have a special duty to condemn the violence which is committed in our name". [Jordan Anthony J. To laugh or to Weep. Blackwater Press 1994. p. 189]
and his Memoir: My Life and Themes (1998). He also published a collection of essays, Cunning and Passion (1986), which includes a substantial piece on the literary work of William Butler Yeats
and some challenging views on the subject of terrorism, and The Siege (1989), a history of Zionism
and the State of Israel. His books, particularly those on Irish issues, tend to be very involved and personal such as States of Ireland where he made the link between the political success of the republican Easter Rising
and the consequent demise of his Home Rule family's position in society. His private papers have been deposited in the University College Dublin Archives.
He was a long time columnist for the Irish Independent and his articles were distinguished by hostility to the 'peace process' in Northern Ireland, regular predictions of civil war in the Republic of Ireland and a pro-Unionist stance. In 1997, a successful libel action was brought against him by relatives of Bloody Sunday
victims for alleging in one article that the marchers were "Sinn Féin activists operating for the IRA". In 1963, O'Brien's script for a Telefís Éireann
programme on Charles Stewart Parnell
won him a Jacob's Award.
Between 1979 and 1981 O'Brien was editor-in-chief of The Observer
newspaper in Britain. Shortly after starting as editor he sent a memo to Mary Holland
, the Observer's Northern Ireland correspondent, whose coverage had won her the Journalist of the Year award:
Holland subsequently left the Observer and joined the Irish Times as the Northern Ireland correspondent.
He held visiting professorships and lectureships throughout the world, particularly in the United States
, and controversially in apartheid South Africa. A persistent critic of Charles Haughey
, O'Brien coined the acronym GUBU
(Grotesque, Unbelievable, Bizarre and Unprecedented), based on a statement by Charles Haughey, who was then Taoiseach
, commenting on the discovery of a murder suspect, Malcolm MacArthur, in the apartment of the Fianna Fáil Attorney General
Patrick Connolly
. Until 1994, O'Brien was Pro-Vice-Chancellor
of the University of Dublin
.
Máire and Conor Cruise O'Brien:
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
politician, writer, historian and academic. Although his opinion on the role of Britain in Northern Ireland changed over the course of the 1970s and 1980s, he always acknowledge values of, as he saw, the two irreconcilable traditions. O'Brien's outlook was radical, yet his career veered from to left to right wing; he was interested in the progress of South Africa, yet in later years took a pro-Israel stance. He summarised his position as "I intend to administer a shock to the Irish psyche
Psyche (psychology)
The word psyche has a long history of use in psychology and philosophy, dating back to ancient times, and has been one of the fundamental concepts for understanding human nature from a scientific point of view. The English word soul is sometimes used synonymously, especially in older...
".
O'Brien began his career as a civil servant working on the government's anti-partition
Partition of Ireland
The partition of Ireland was the division of the island of Ireland into two distinct territories, now Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland . Partition occurred when the British Parliament passed the Government of Ireland Act 1920...
campaign. At the 1969 general election
Irish general election, 1969
The Irish general election of 1969 was held on 18 June 1969. The newly elected members of the 19th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 2 July when the new Taoiseach and government were appointed...
, he was elected to Ireland's parliament
Oireachtas
The Oireachtas , sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the "national parliament" or legislature of Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of:*The President of Ireland*The two Houses of the Oireachtas :**Dáil Éireann...
as a Labour Party
Labour Party (Ireland)
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish...
TD
Teachta Dála
A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...
for Dublin North East
Dublin North East (Dáil Éireann constituency)
Dublin North–East is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects 3 deputies...
becoming a Minister from 1973–77. He was also the Labour Party's Northern Ireland spokesman during those years. He was later known primarily as a journalist and leading columnist in the Irish Independent
Irish Independent
The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...
.
Early life
Cruise O'Brien was born in Dublin to Francis ("Frank") Cruise O'Brien and Kathleen Sheehy. Frank was a journalist with the Freeman's JournalFreeman's Journal
The Freeman's Journal was the oldest nationalist newspaper in Ireland. It was founded in 1763 by Charles Lucas and was identified with radical 18th century Protestant patriot politicians Henry Grattan and Henry Flood...
and Irish Independent
Irish Independent
The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...
newspapers, and had edited an essay written fifty years earlier by William Lecky
William Edward Hartpole Lecky
William Edward Hartpole Lecky, OM was an Irish historian.-Early life:Born at Newtown Park, near Dublin, he was the eldest son of John Hartpole Lecky, a landowner....
, on the influence of the clergy on Irish politics. Kathleen was an Irish language
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
teacher and daughter of David Sheehy
David Sheehy
David Sheehy was an Irish nationalist politician. He was a Member of Parliament from 1885 to 1900 and from 1903 to 1918, taking his seat as a member of the Irish Parliamentary Party in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.- Political career :Born in Limerick, he...
, a member of the Irish Parliamentary Party
Irish Parliamentary Party
The Irish Parliamentary Party was formed in 1882 by Charles Stewart Parnell, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish nationalist Members of Parliament elected to the House of Commons at...
and organizer of the Irish National Land League
Irish National Land League
The Irish Land League was an Irish political organization of the late 19th century which sought to help poor tenant farmers. Its primary aim was to abolish landlordism in Ireland and enable tenant farmers to own the land they worked on...
. She had three sisters, all of whom lost their husbands in 1916. These included Hanna
Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington
Johanna Mary Sheehy-Skeffington, was a suffragette and Irish nationalist. Along with her husband and Margaret Cousins and James Cousins she founded the Irish Women's Franchise League in 1908 with the aim of obtaining women's voting rights...
, wife of murdered pacifist
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
Francis Sheehy-Skeffington
Francis Sheehy-Skeffington
Francis Skeffington from Bailieborough, County Cavan, was an Irish suffragist, pacifist and writer. He was a friend and schoolmate of James Joyce, Oliver St John Gogarty, Tom Kettle, and Conor Cruise O'Brien's father, Frank O'Brien...
, and Mary, wife of Thomas Kettle
Thomas Kettle
Thomas Michael "Tom" Kettle was an Irish journalist, barrister, writer, poet, soldier, economist and Home Rule politician. As a member of the Irish Parliamentary Party, he was Member of Parliament for East Tyrone from 1906 to 1910 at Westminster...
, an officer of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers who died during the Battle of the Somme.
O'Brien's father (who died in 1927) requested his wife have his son educated in a non-denominational school. O'Brien was sent to Sandford Park School
Sandford Park School
Sandford Park School Ltd. is a small private, non-denominational, all-boys secondary school, located in the inner suburb of Ranelagh in Dublin, Ireland, founded in 1922.-School principals:* Alfred Le Peton 1922-25* Gordon Sylvester Bradshaw Mack 1925-34...
, despite the objections of the Catholic clergy. O'Brien subsequently attended Trinity College Dublin which, like Sandford Park, was neither Catholic nor nationalist
Irish nationalism
Irish nationalism manifests itself in political and social movements and in sentiment inspired by a love for Irish culture, language and history, and as a sense of pride in Ireland and in the Irish people...
in ethos. O'Brien was editor of Trinity's weekly, TCD: A College Miscellany. His first wife was Christine Foster, who came from a Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
Presbyterian family. They were married in a registry office in 1939, which was contrary to Catholic teachings. O'Brien had three children with Christine Foster — Donal, Fedelma, and Kathleen (Kate)
Kate Cruise O'Brien
Kate Cruise O'Brien was an Irish writer.The third and youngest child of the politician and diplomat Conor Cruise O'Brien, she was born in Dublin, and grew up in Howth. She went to school in Dublin and studied English in Trinity College Dublin...
, who died in 1998. The marriage ended in divorce after 20 years. In 1962, he married the Irish-language writer and poet Máire Mhac an tSaoi
Máire Mhac an tSaoi
-Background:Mhac an tSaoi was born as Máire MacEntee in Dublin in 1922. Her father, Seán MacEntee, a native of Belfast, was a founding member of Fianna Fáil, a long-serving TD and Tánaiste in the Dáil and a participant in the Easter Rising of 1916. Her mother, County Tipperary-born Margaret Browne...
. She was five years his junior, and the daughter of former TD and Tánaiste
Tánaiste
The Tánaiste is the deputy prime minister of Ireland. The current Tánaiste is Eamon Gilmore, TD who was appointed on 9 March 2011.- Origins and etymology :...
, Seán MacEntee
Seán MacEntee
Seán MacEntee was an Irish politician. In a career that spanned over forty years as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála, MacEntee was one of the most important figures in post-independence Ireland. He served in the governments of Éamon de Valera and Seán Lemass in a range of ministerial positions,...
. They adopted a son (Patrick) and a daughter (Margaret).
O'Brien's university education led to a series of appointments in the public service, most notably in the Department of External Affairs (now Foreign Affairs). He became something of an anomalous iconoclast in post-1922 Irish politics, particularly in the context of Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera was one of the dominant political figures in twentieth century Ireland, serving as head of government of the Irish Free State and head of government and head of state of Ireland...
's Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
government. He considered that those who did not conform to traditional Catholic mores
Mores
Mores, in sociology, are any given society's particular norms, virtues, or values. The word mores is a plurale tantum term borrowed from Latin, which has been used in the English language since the 1890s....
were generally not suited to the public service. In the Department of External Affairs, O'Brien served as a diplomat under the pro-physical force republican
Irish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
, Seán MacBride
Seán MacBride
Seán MacBride was an Irish government minister and prominent international politician as well as a Chief of Staff of the IRA....
, the Nobel Peace
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
Laureate of 1974. MacBride was the son of John MacBride
John MacBride
Major John MacBride was an Irish republican executed for participation in the 1916 Easter Rising.-Early life:...
and Maud Gonne
Maud Gonne
Maud Gonne MacBride was an English-born Irish revolutionary, feminist and actress, best remembered for her turbulent relationship with William Butler Yeats. Of Anglo-Irish stock and birth, she was won over to Irish nationalism by the plight of evicted people in the Land Wars...
. O'Brien was particularly vocal on the anti-partition
Partition of Ireland
The partition of Ireland was the division of the island of Ireland into two distinct territories, now Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland . Partition occurred when the British Parliament passed the Government of Ireland Act 1920...
issue during the 1940s.
International postings
O'Brien came to prominence as a special representative to Dag HammarskjöldDag Hammarskjöld
Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld was a Swedish diplomat, economist, and author. An early Secretary-General of the United Nations, he served from April 1953 until his death in a plane crash in September 1961. He is the only person to have been awarded a posthumous Nobel Peace Prize. Hammarskjöld...
, Secretary General of the United Nations, when, in 1961, Katanga
State of Katanga
Katanga was a breakaway state proclaimed on 11 July 1960 separating itself from the newly independent Democratic Republic of the Congo. In revolt against the new government of Patrice Lumumba in July, Katanga declared independence under Moise Tshombe, leader of the local CONAKAT party...
tried to secede
Congo Crisis
The Congo Crisis was a period of turmoil in the First Republic of the Congo that began with national independence from Belgium and ended with the seizing of power by Joseph Mobutu...
from what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
. Under pressure from a range of international interests, he eventually resigned and wrote To Katanga and Back (1962) which is still considered a classic of both modern African history and the inner workings of the United Nations. From 1962 to 1965 he was Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana
University of Ghana
The University of Ghana is the oldest and largest of the thirteen Ghanaian universities and tertiary institutions. It is one of the best universities in Africa and by far the most prestigious in West Africa...
. His interpretation of academic freedom differed from that of the Chancellor,and leader of the country Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. Dr. o'Brien resigned.[Jordan Anthony J. To Laugh or to Weep - A biographyof Conor Cruise O'Brien , Blackwater Press 1994. p. 76-78] Following this he was the first Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer OM was a German theologian, organist, philosopher, physician, and medical missionary. He was born in Kaysersberg in the province of Alsace-Lorraine, at that time part of the German Empire...
Professor of Humanities at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
until 1969.
Irish politics
O'Brien returned to Ireland and in the 1969 general electionIrish general election, 1969
The Irish general election of 1969 was held on 18 June 1969. The newly elected members of the 19th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 2 July when the new Taoiseach and government were appointed...
was elected to Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann is the lower house, but principal chamber, of the Oireachtas , which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann . It is directly elected at least once in every five years under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote...
as a member of the Labour Party, representing the Dublin North East
Dublin North East (Dáil Éireann constituency)
Dublin North–East is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects 3 deputies...
constituency together with three other TD
Teachta Dála
A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...
s, including Charles Haughey
Charles Haughey
Charles James "Charlie" Haughey was Taoiseach of Ireland, serving three terms in office . He was also the fourth leader of Fianna Fáil...
. He was appointed a member of the short-lived first delegation
MEPs for Ireland 1973
This is a list of the 10 Members of the European Parliament for Ireland appointed to the delegation from the Oireachtas as a result of the Irish accession to the European Economic Community on 1 January 1973. The first delegation, served only two months, from 1 January 1973 until the 1973 general...
from the Oireachtas
Oireachtas
The Oireachtas , sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the "national parliament" or legislature of Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of:*The President of Ireland*The two Houses of the Oireachtas :**Dáil Éireann...
to the European Parliament. Following the 1973 general election, O'Brien was appointed Minister for Posts & Telegraphs
Minister for Posts and Telegraphs (Ireland)
The Minister for Posts and Telegraphs was a senior post in the government of the Irish Free State and the Republic of Ireland from 1924 to 1984, when the post and the department was abolished....
in the coalition Cosgrave government
Liam Cosgrave
Liam Cosgrave is an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach and as Leader of Fine Gael . He was a Teachta Dála from 1943 to 1981....
. During this period he developed a deep hostility to militant Irish republicanism
Irish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
. He extended and vigorously enforced censorship of the media, banning members of Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
and the Provisional Irish Republican Army
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
from being interviewed on Irish radio or television (Section 31). At the same time, he attempted to get Britain's BBC 1 television channel broadcast on Ireland's proposed second television channel.
An incident was to mar O'Brien's career as minister and in particular his attitude towards free speech. Bernard Nossitier of the Washington Post interviewed O'Brien in August 1976 regarding the passage of the Emergency Powers Bill. During the course of the interview O'Brien revealed that he had intentions other than those stated in the bill. He claimed that he wished to "cleanse the culture" of republicanism. He stated that he would've liked the bill to be used against teachers who glorified Irish revolutionaries and against newspaper editors who published letters in support of Republicans. During the interview he mentioned the Irish Press as a newspaper which he hoped to use this bill against. Nossiter then informed Tim Pat Coogan
Tim Pat Coogan
Timothy Patrick Coogan is an Irish historical writer, broadcaster and newspaper columnist. He served as editor of the Irish Press newspaper from 1968 to 1987...
who was the editor of the Irish Press. Coogan printed the interview and a number of strong editorials attacking the bill. The interview caused huge controversy and a highly modified version of the bill was passed, which dropped the proposal to extend sanctions to newspapers.
O'Brien's attitude towards Garda
Garda Síochána
, more commonly referred to as the Gardaí , is the police force of Ireland. The service is headed by the Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.- Terminology :...
brutality in this period has been remarked upon. In his book, he recalls a conversation with a detective who told him how the Gardaí had found out – from a suspect – the location of businessman Tiede Herrema
Tiede Herrema
Dr Tiede Herrema is a Dutch businessman.In the 1970s, Herrema ran a wire factory, Ferenka, in the city of Limerick, Ireland. At the time, he was the city's biggest employer, with approximately 1,400 workers. On 3 October 1975 he was abducted near his home by two members of the Provisional Irish...
, who had been kidnapped by the IRA in October 1975: "[T]he escort started asking him questions and when at first he refused to answer, they beat the shit out of him. Then he told them where Herrema was." O'Brien explained, "I refrained from telling this story to Garret
Garret FitzGerald
Garret FitzGerald was an Irish politician who was twice Taoiseach of Ireland, serving in office from July 1981 to February 1982 and again from December 1982 to March 1987. FitzGerald was elected to Seanad Éireann in 1965 and was subsequently elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fine Gael TD in 1969. He...
[FitzGerald] or Justin
Justin Keating
Justin Keating was an Irish Labour Party politician, broadcaster, journalist, lecturer and veterinary surgeon. In later life he was President of the Humanist Association of Ireland....
[Keating], because I thought it would worry them. It didn’t worry me." The elements of the Garda Síochána that engaged in beating suspects later became known as the "Heavy Gang".
His stance caused controversy within and outside the government. His Dublin North East constituency was abolished and in the 1977 general election
Irish general election, 1977
The Irish general election of 1977 was held on 16 June 1977 and is regarded as a pivotal point in twentieth century Irish politics. The general election took place in 42 parliamentary constituencies throughout Ireland for 148 seats in the lower house of parliament, Dáil Éireann. The number of...
he stood unsuccessfully in Dublin Clontarf
Dublin Clontarf (Dáil Éireann constituency)
Dublin Clontarf was a short-lived parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas from 1977 to 1981...
. He was, however, subsequently elected to Seanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann is the upper house of the Oireachtas , which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann . It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its members Senators or Seanadóirí . Unlike Dáil Éireann, it is not directly elected but consists of a mixture of members chosen by...
(1977 to 1979).
Unionism
In 1996, he joined Robert McCartneyRobert McCartney (politician)
Robert Law McCartney QC is a Northern Ireland barrister and former leader of the UK Unionist Party.He was initially a member of the Ulster Unionist Party but was expelled in June 1987 when he refused to withdraw from the general election of that year...
's United Kingdom Unionist Party and was elected to the Northern Ireland Forum
Northern Ireland Forum
The Northern Ireland Forum was a body set up in 1996 as part of a process of negotiations that eventually led to the Belfast Agreement in 1998....
. He later resigned from UKUP after publishing an extract from his book Memoir: My Life and Themes in which he called on Unionists to consider the benefits of a united Ireland
United Ireland
A united Ireland is the term used to refer to the idea of a sovereign state which covers all of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. The island of Ireland includes the territory of two independent sovereign states: the Republic of Ireland, which covers 26 counties of the island, and the...
to thwart Sinn Féin. In 2005 he rejoined the Labour Party. He was widely regarded as a hate figure amongst Republicans. He defended his harshness towards extreme nationalists by saying," We do right to condemn all violence but we have a special duty to condemn the violence which is committed in our name". [Jordan Anthony J. To laugh or to Weep. Blackwater Press 1994. p. 189]
Writings
Conor Cruise O'Brien's many books include: his picture of the politics of polarisation States of Ireland (1972), The Great Melody (1992), his unorthodox biography of Edmund BurkeEdmund Burke
Edmund Burke PC was an Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist and philosopher who, after moving to England, served for many years in the House of Commons of Great Britain as a member of the Whig party....
and his Memoir: My Life and Themes (1998). He also published a collection of essays, Cunning and Passion (1986), which includes a substantial piece on the literary work of William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and playwright, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years he served as an Irish Senator for two terms...
and some challenging views on the subject of terrorism, and The Siege (1989), a history of Zionism
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
and the State of Israel. His books, particularly those on Irish issues, tend to be very involved and personal such as States of Ireland where he made the link between the political success of the republican Easter Rising
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...
and the consequent demise of his Home Rule family's position in society. His private papers have been deposited in the University College Dublin Archives.
He was a long time columnist for the Irish Independent and his articles were distinguished by hostility to the 'peace process' in Northern Ireland, regular predictions of civil war in the Republic of Ireland and a pro-Unionist stance. In 1997, a successful libel action was brought against him by relatives of Bloody Sunday
Bloody Sunday (1972)
Bloody Sunday —sometimes called the Bogside Massacre—was an incident on 30 January 1972 in the Bogside area of Derry, Northern Ireland, in which twenty-six unarmed civil rights protesters and bystanders were shot by soldiers of the British Army...
victims for alleging in one article that the marchers were "Sinn Féin activists operating for the IRA". In 1963, O'Brien's script for a Telefís Éireann
RTÉ One
RTÉ One is the flagship television channel of Raidió Teilifís Éireann , and it is the most popular and most watched television channel in Ireland. It was launched as Telefís Éireann on 31 December 1961, it was renamed RTÉ Television in 1966, and it was renamed as RTÉ One upon the launch of RTÉ...
programme on Charles Stewart Parnell
Charles Stewart Parnell
Charles Stewart Parnell was an Irish landowner, nationalist political leader, land reform agitator, and the founder and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party...
won him a Jacob's Award.
Between 1979 and 1981 O'Brien was editor-in-chief of The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
newspaper in Britain. Shortly after starting as editor he sent a memo to Mary Holland
Mary Holland
Mary Holland was an Irish journalist who specialised in writing about Ireland, and in particular Northern Ireland. Born in Dover but raised in Ireland, she married a British diplomat, Ronald Higgins; they lived in Indonesia, but the marriage was eventually annulled.Originally working in fashion...
, the Observer's Northern Ireland correspondent, whose coverage had won her the Journalist of the Year award:
Holland subsequently left the Observer and joined the Irish Times as the Northern Ireland correspondent.
He held visiting professorships and lectureships throughout the world, particularly in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and controversially in apartheid South Africa. A persistent critic of Charles Haughey
Charles Haughey
Charles James "Charlie" Haughey was Taoiseach of Ireland, serving three terms in office . He was also the fourth leader of Fianna Fáil...
, O'Brien coined the acronym GUBU
GUBU
GUBU is an acronym standing for grotesque, unbelievable, bizarre and unprecedented.The phrase was paraphrased from a comment by then Taoiseach of Ireland, Charles Haughey, while describing a strange series of incidents in the summer of 1982 that led to a double-murderer being apprehended in the...
(Grotesque, Unbelievable, Bizarre and Unprecedented), based on a statement by Charles Haughey, who was then Taoiseach
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...
, commenting on the discovery of a murder suspect, Malcolm MacArthur, in the apartment of the Fianna Fáil Attorney General
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
Patrick Connolly
Patrick Connolly
Patrick Connolly is a former Attorney General of Ireland who was appointed by Charles Haughey. Connolly resigned after Malcolm McArthur, who had been a house-guest of Connolly's, was later convicted of the murder of a nurse, Bridie Gargan ....
. Until 1994, O'Brien was Pro-Vice-Chancellor
Pro-Vice-Chancellor
In a university, an assistant to a vice-chancellor is called a pro-vice-chancellor . These are sometimes teaching academics who take on additional responsibilities. Some of these responsibilities are in charge of Administration, Research and Development, Academic and Education affairs...
of the University of Dublin
University of Dublin
The University of Dublin , corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin , located in Dublin, Ireland, was effectively founded when in 1592 Queen Elizabeth I issued a charter for Trinity College, Dublin, as "the mother of a university" – this date making it...
.
Works
- Maria Cross: Imaginative Patterns in a Group of Modern Catholic Writers (as Donat O'Donnell) (London: Chatto & Windus, 1952) OCLC 7884093
- Parnell and His Party 1880-90 (Oxford: Clarendon PressOxford University PressOxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
, 1957) ISBN 978-0198212379 (1968 edition) - To Katanga and Back: A UN Case History (London: HutchinsonHutchinson (publisher)Hutchinson & Co. was an English book publisher, founded in 1887. The company merged with Century Publishing in 1985 to form Century Hutchinson, and was folded into the British Random House Group in 1989, where it remains as an imprint in the Cornerstone Publishing division...
, 1962) OCLC 460615937 - Writers and Politics: Essays & Criticism (London: Chatto & Windus, 1965) ISBN 978-0140027334 (1976 Penguin edition)
- Murderous Angels: A Political Tragedy and Comedy in Black and White (play) (Boston: Little, BrownLittle, Brown and CompanyLittle, Brown and Company is a publishing house established by Charles Coffin Little and his partner, James Brown. Since 2006 it has been a constituent unit of Hachette Book Group USA.-19th century:...
, 1968) OCLC 449739 - The United Nations: Sacred Drama with illustrations by Feliks TopolskiFeliks TopolskiFeliks Topolski RA was a Polish-born British expressionist painter and draughtsman.- Life :Felix Topolski was born on 14 August 1907 in Warsaw...
(London: Hutchinson, 1968) ISBN 978-0090857906 - Camus (Fontana Modern MastersFontana Modern MastersThe Fontana Modern Masters was a series of pocket guides on the writers, philosophers, and other thinkers and theorists whose ideas were shaping the intellectual landscape of the twentieth century. The first five titles were published on 12 January 1970 by Fontana Books, the paperback imprint of...
, 1970) ISBN 978-0002111478 - released in US as Albert Camus of Europe and Africa (New York: VikingViking PressViking Press is an American publishing company owned by the Penguin Group, which has owned the company since 1975. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim...
, 1970) ISBN 978-0670019021 - States of Ireland (London: Hutchinson, 1972) ISBN 978-0091131005
- The Suspecting Glance (London: FaberFaber and FaberFaber and Faber Limited, often abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in the UK, notable in particular for publishing a great deal of poetry and for its former editor T. S. Eliot. Faber has a rich tradition of publishing a wide range of fiction, non fiction, drama, film and music...
, 1972) ISBN 978-0571095438 - Herod: Reflections on Political Violence (Hutchinson, 1978) ISBN 978-0091331900
- The Siege: The Saga of Israel and Zionism (1986) ISBN 978-0671633103
- God Land : Reflections on Religion and Nationalism (Cambridge: Harvard University PressHarvard University PressHarvard University Press is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. In 2005, it published 220 new titles. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. Its current director is William P...
, 1988) ISBN 978-0674355101 - Passion and Cunning and Other Essays (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1988) ISBN 978-0297793250
- The Great Melody: A Thematic Biography of Edmund Burke (Chicago: University of Chicago PressUniversity of Chicago PressThe University of Chicago Press is the largest university press in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including The Chicago Manual of Style, dozens of academic journals, including Critical Inquiry, and a wide array of...
, 1992) ISBN 978-0-226-61651-3 - On the Eve of the Millennium (Toronto: House of AnansiHouse of Anansi PressHouse of Anansi Press is a Canadian publishing company, founded in 1967 by writers Dennis Lee and Dave Godfrey. The company specializes in finding and developing new Canadian writers of literary fiction, poetry, and non-fiction....
, 1994). ISBN 978-0887845598 - The Long Affair: Thomas Jefferson and the French Revolution, 1785-1800 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996) ISBN 978-0226616568
- Ancestral Voices: Religion and Nationalism in Ireland (Dublin: Poolbeg, 1994) ISBN 978-1853714290
- Memoir: My Life and Themes (Dublin: Poolbeg, 1999) ISBN 978-1853719479
Máire and Conor Cruise O'Brien:
- A Concise History of Ireland (London: Thames and Hudson, 1972) ISBN 978-0-500-45011-6 - released in US as The Story of Ireland (New York: Viking, 1972) ISBN 978-0670674756
External links
- Obituary, NY Times issue Dec. 19, 2008
- ElectionsIreland.org - Profile
- Oireachtas Members Database - Profile
- O'Brien article archive and author page from The New York Review of BooksThe New York Review of BooksThe New York Review of Books is a fortnightly magazine with articles on literature, culture and current affairs. Published in New York City, it takes as its point of departure that the discussion of important books is itself an indispensable literary activity...