GUBU

The phrase grotesque, unbelievable, bizarre and unprecedented was paraphrased from a comment by then Taoiseach (prime minister) 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 house of the Irish Attorney General.

The corresponding acronym, GUBU, was coined by Conor Cruise O'Brien, and both it and the phrase are still occasionally used in Irish political discourse to describe notorious scandals. In January 2011 some ministerial resignations from the Government were described by its opponent Michael Noonan as "...bizarre, grotesque and to some extent unbelievable."

Background

The murderer, Malcolm Edward MacArthur, born 17 April 1945, was a well-known eccentric character in Dublin social circles and never held a job, as he lived off inheritance from the sale of his father's farm, after his death in 1974. However, as his money ran out, MacArthur decided to fund his lifestyle by robbery. First he decided to purchase a gun and responded to an advertisement by Dónal Dunne, a farmer in Edenderry, County Offaly who had a shotgun for sale. However, having no transport and needing to get from Dublin to Edenderry, he decided to steal a car.