The late journalist and author, Bruce Arnold, left an estate valued at €3.2 million, according to papers published by the Probate Office this week.
Arnold, along with former Irish Times editor Geraldine Kennedy, won a civil action against the State in 1988 which arose from the tapping of their phones on the orders of the then Fianna Fáil minister for justice, Seán Doherty.
Originally from England, Arnold lived in Ireland from 1957 and set up home with his wife Mavis, also a journalist, in Glenageary in 1967.
Over the years he received many awards, including being made an honorary fellow of Trinity College Dublin, a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and an honorary member of the Royal Hibernian Academy. He was also awarded an honorary doctorate by UCD and was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to journalism and UK-Irish relations by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth in 2003.
Arnold, who died last May, was predeceased by Mavis in 2017 and the seven-bedroom home they shared in Glenageary was recently put up for sale with an asking price of €3.25 million.
Among other grants of probate issued last week was that of Johanna van der Flier (98), of Church Hill, Wicklow town.
Ms van der Flier came to Ireland with her husband, Johannes, in the late 1950s moving first to Finglas, then to Wicklow town, where they set up Veha Radiators.
Ms van der Flier, who left an estate valued at €1.253 million, died the peacefully at Knockrobin Hill Care Home, Co Wicklow, last December. She is survived by her extended family including her grandson Josh van der Flier, an Irish rugby international.
Neil Murray, of Murphystown House, Kilgobbin Road, Sandyford, Co Dublin, who died last July, left an estate valued at €2.339 million.
Peter Jennings, of Killoran, Ballinasloe, Co Galway, who died last October, left an estate valued at €2.156 million.
Stanislaus Brennan, of Clarey, Nurney, Co Kildare, who died in March 2023, left an estate valued at €2.250 million.
Ignatius Bernard, of Navan Road, Dublin, left an estate valued at €2.150 million when he died last October.
The figures mentioned above are taken from the Grants of Probate released by the Probate Office. The figures typically are gross valuations and include the value of a family home, farm or other property.
