‘Era-defining scandal’: Ireland revisits ‘Gubu’ murders 40 years on

Scandal over Malcolm MacArthur killings destabilised a government and spawned an acronym

No single adjective could do justice to the events that rocked Ireland in July and August 1982, so the then taoiseach, Charles Haughey, used four: Grotesque, unbelievable, bizarre and unprecedented". An acronym was soon born: Gubu.

That summer, Malcolm MacArthur, a socialite with a yen for bow ties and cravats, had bludgeoned a young woman to death, killed a farmer with his own shotgun and attempted to rob a retired US diplomat, sparking a huge manhunt.