The journalist and author was reportedly admitted to St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin after falling ill on Friday A source at The Independent, where Fisk was a Middle East correspondent, confirmed the news of his death
Fisk was admitted to hospital after suffering an alleged stroke, Irish Times report says
Described by The New York Times in 2005 as « arguably Britain’s most famous foreign correspondent, » Fisk has won many prestigious awards during his career for his Middle East coverage
These included the Orwell Prize for Journalism and multiple British Press Awards victories in the categories of International Reporter of the Year and Foreign Reporter of the Year
After starting his career with the Sunday Express, Fisk joined The Times where from 1972 to 1975 he was the newspaper’s correspondent in Belfast during the height of the Northern Ireland unrest
In 1976 he moved to Beirut where he began his career as a Middle East correspondent, covering the Lebanese Civil War, the Iranian Revolution, the Iran-Iraq War and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
He joined the Independent in 1989 and remained their correspondent in the region until his death, covering events such as Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait and the recent wars in Syria. He also reported on the Bosnian and Kosovo wars in the former Yugoslavia
Fluent in Arabic, he was one of the few Western journalists to interview al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, which he did three times in the 1990s
He was a controversial figure known for his criticism of the United States Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, he faced a backlash after asking what motivated those responsible for the attacks
Fisk has also written books on Northern Ireland and the Middle East, including Pity the Nation: Lebanon at War and The Great War for Civilization, in which he recounts « the betrayals, betrayal and deception of the history of the Middle East ”
Fisk had ties to Ireland since reporting during the Troubles, after which he earned a doctorate from Trinity College.Among other honorary degrees and awards, he was later awarded the Gold Medal from Trinity College Dublin’s Historical Society in 2009
Responding to the news of his death, Micheal Martin, the Irish taoiseach, tweeted: “Sad tonight to learn of the death of journalist Robert Fisk He was independent from & fearless in his reporting, with a deep understanding of the intricacies of Middle Eastern history and politics It has helped many people better understand these RIP complexities «
Robert Fisk
News from around the world – UK – Robert Fisk, British foreign correspondent, dies at 74
