University of Limerick Hosts Renowned Journalist Dr Robert Fisk
published on Apr 23rd, 2009
Hosted by the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, renowned London Independent Middle East correspondent Robert Fisk gave a major public lecture at the University of Limerick.
Dr Fisk discussed his career as a war correspondent, the ongoing situation in the Middle East and his thoughts on peace building in the region in a lecture entitled 'The Middle East, Politics and Journalism in a Globalised World'. Speaking before the lecture Dr Fisk said that it was time that armed forces withdraw from Muslim nations 'We now have, on my reckoning, 22 times as many westerners in the Muslim world than the crusaders had in the 12th century' he said.
Robert Fisk is one of the world's most famous and influential commentators on the Middle East and is the author of a number of seminal works on Middle Eastern politics and history. He has interviewed Osama Bin Laden three times and been recognised with a number of international awards for his journalism.
Background note:
Born July 12, 1946, Dr Fisk holds a PhD in political science from the University of Dublin (Trinity College) and has been awarded seven honorary doctorates from universities around the world.
He began his career with the Sunday Express but moved to the Times (London) where he worked as Belfast Correspondent from 1972 to 1975. He briefly worked in Portugal before being appointed the Middle East Correspondent of the Times in 1976.
He remained with the Times until 1989 when he moved to the Independent, where he continues to work. In his career, Dr Fisk has covered some of the world's bloodiest conflicts including the 1975 to 1990 Lebanese Civil War; the 1991 Gulf War; the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the subsequent Iran Iraq war.
He has interviewed Osama Bin Laden on three occasions and most recently he has reported from Baghdad on the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in Iraq and the 2006 Israeli Hezbollah war in Lebanon.
He has been recognised on seven occasions by his peers in the UK for his work as a journalist with International Journalist of the Year accolades.
In 1991, Dr Fisk was recognised by his Irish peers for his work reporting the Gulf War for RTE when he received a Jacobs Award.
He is the author of a number of world-renowned non-fiction books on history and journalism including In Time of War, Pity The Nation, and The Great War for Civilisation.
He has been described by the New York Times as "probably the most famous foreign correspondent in Britain". He continues to live in Beirut.