Northern Ireland

World of journalism has 'lost one of its finest commentators' following death of Robert Fisk

Tributes have been paid to Robert Fisk
Tributes have been paid to Robert Fisk Tributes have been paid to Robert Fisk

PRESIDENT Michael D Higgins last night said the world of journalism had "lost one of its finest commentators", following the death of veteran foreign correspondent Robert Fisk.

More tributes have been paid to the award-winning journalist, who died of a suspected stroke after falling ill at his home near Dublin on Friday.

Journalists and political figures have been remembering the writer, including Taoiseach Micheál Martin who described him as "fearless and independent in his reporting, with a deeply researched understanding of the complexities of Middle Eastern history and politics".

Mr Fisk (74) had a long-standing relationship with Ireland dating back to the early 1970s.

After beginning his career at the Sunday Express, he moved to Belfast in 1972 to cover the Troubles as Northern Ireland correspondent for the Times.

He later undertook a PHD at Trinity College, completing a thesis on Ireland’s neutrality during the second World War. Originally from England, he later took Irish citizenship and lived in Dalkey for many years.

President Higgins said he had "learned with great sadness" of the death.

"With his passing the world of journalism and informed commentary on the Middle East has lost one of its finest commentators," he said.

"I have had the privilege of knowing Robert Fisk since the 1990s, and of meeting him in some of the countries of which he wrote with such great understanding.

"I met him in Iraq, and last year I had my last meeting with him in Beirut, during my official visit to Lebanon.

"I knew that his taking of Irish citizenship meant a great deal to him.

"And his influence on young practitioners in journalism and political writing was attested by the huge audiences which attended the occasions on which he spoke in Ireland."

He was the Middle East correspondent for The Times from 1976 and reported on conflicts in the Balkans, Middle East and North Africa for UK newspapers for five decades.

He moved to the Independent in 1989, where he worked for the remainder of his career, spending two decades covering conflicts throughout the Middle East as well as interviewing Osama Bin Laden three times.

He also published a number of well regarded books.

BBC Middle East correspondent Jeremy Bowen said Mr Fisk was "brave and controversial".

"He was a brilliant writer, who did his best work in wars, transporting readers to his side in some burning village," he wrote.

In a post on Twitter, Trinity College Dublin expressed sadness at the death of the "renowned journalist and author".

Fine Gael TD Charlie Flanagan also said he was "saddened at the passing" of Mr Fisk.

"Pleased to present him with Irish citizenship about which which he was immensely proud," he wrote on Twitter.

"Didn’t always agree with his views. but I admired his courage among many great qualities."