From Dublin slums to war reporter & master of disguise

Journalistic legend Emile Dillon brought to life in a new book

- WRITER Emile Joseph Dillon circa 1919

HE IS one of the most famous journalists Ireland ever produced, but the name Emile Dillon is not widely known.

Now a new book about the news-paperman who rose from the slums of Victorian Dublin to become a world-renowned war correspondent brings him to life.

Author Kevin Rafter tells Emile Dillon's story in his book Dillon Rediscovered, where he charts his life and career.

He tells how Dillon witnessed some of the most dramatic events in history, such as the assassination of a Russian tsar and bloody massacres in Armenia.

Dillon was born in 1854 and grew up near Dublin's Four Courts, the son of a hardware store owner.

His father was a devout Catholic who wanted his son to be a priest, but Dillon had other academic ambitions.

He travelled to Europe and then onto Russia, where he made his name as an authority on the vast country. He was friends with literary figures such as Leo Tolstoy.

He rose to prominence as special correspondent with the Daily Telegraph. He was also a political advisor, author and academic.

The book draws on never-seen-before letters and notebooks, to reveal a complicated personal life including marriages in Russia and Bulgaria and family conflict.

He died in Barcelona in 1933.

Here, author Kevin Rafter gives Irish Daily Star readers the run down on the great Irish journalist.

Tell us a little about Emile Joseph Dillon?

Emile was a famous newspaper journalist. He knew all the powerful politicians in Europe and beyond.