arrested on the private property of Connolly, where he had been staying for some time as a guest. Connolly, who had been getting ready for holiday, continued on his journey to the United States and did not give any interview to the Gardaí on the matter. A serious effort was made to prevent the relationship between Connolly and MacArthur becoming public and indeed it was claimed that this was homosexual, something that was later discounted. Connolly was promptly requested to return to Ireland where he then resigned on 16 August. Haughey attempted to distance himself from the fiasco and described the event as "a bizarre happening, an unprecedented situation, a grotesque situation, an almost unbelievable mischance." MacArthur admitted his guilt of the murder of the nurse. Because of this, he was not tried for Dunne's murder as the state entered a plea of nolle prosequi. This led to a petition of 10,000 signatures to ensure MacArthur would be tried for his murder. This was unsuccessful and MacArthur received a life sentence for just one murder. After conviction In 2003 the parole board recommended that MacArthur be put on a temporary release programme which would eventually lead to his release. Michael McDowell, the then Minister for Justice, who was also a member of MacArthur's defence team in the murder trial, decided that he would take no part in the decision for fear of a conflict of interest. In July 2004 it was decided to keep MacArthur in prison, as relatives – including his mother – considered him dangerous. MacArthur was allowed to spend Christmas Day 2005 with a relative outside prison and was also allowed a five-hour Christmas parole in 2006. MacArthur was released from Shelton Abbey Prison on 17 September 2012. In popular culture MacArthur's story inspired John Banville's 1989 novel, The Book of Evidence. GUBU was also the name of a bar on Capel Street in Dublin in the early part of the 2000s. References External links McArthur's bizarre courtroom chat with detectives BBC World Update entry explaining the term Irish Parliamentary Debates — usage of the term "GUBU" in Dáil and Seanad debates Dictionary definition of GUBU — includes citations Acronyms Charles Haughey History of the Republic of Ireland Political scandals in the Republic of Ireland Politics of the Republic of Ireland 1980s neologisms