Northern Ireland

Veteran journalist and author Robert Fisk dies after suffering suspected stroke in Dublin

Veteran journalist and author Robert Fisk who died after suffering a suspected stroke at his home in Dublin
Veteran journalist and author Robert Fisk who died after suffering a suspected stroke at his home in Dublin Veteran journalist and author Robert Fisk who died after suffering a suspected stroke at his home in Dublin

Veteran journalist and author Robert Fisk has died after suffering a suspected stroke at his home in Dublin.

A highly regarded foreign correspondent, the 74-year-old became unwell on Friday and was admitted to St Vincent’s Hospital where he died a short time later.

Described by the New York Times in 2005 as "probably the most famous foreign correspondent in Britain", the writer had a long-standing relationship with Ireland dating back to the early seventies when he moved to Belfast to work as Northern Ireland correspondent for the London Times at the height of the Troubles.

He later undertook a PHD at Trinity College, completing a thesis on Ireland’s neutrality during the second World War.

Having begun his career with the Sunday Express in London, he moved to the Times.

After his time in Northern Ireland, he became Middle East Correspondent for the Times and covered events including the Lebanese civil war, Russian invasion of Afghanistan, Iranian revolution and the Iran-Iraq War.

He also reported extensively on the first Gulf War, from Baghdad and also covered the US-led war wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and was one of only a few western reporters to interview Osama Bin Laden.

He also wrote a number of books including The Point of No Return: The Strike Which Broke the British in Ulster and In Time of War: Ireland, Ulster and the Price of Neutrality 1939-45.