Tony Taylor is a community activist and former Provisional IRA inmate from Northern Ireland who was sentenced to 18 years in prison in 1994 after he was seriously injured in a premature explosion in

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

. He was released under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. In 2011 Taylor was arrested for possession of a rifle and released in 2014. Taylor was arrested two years later on the street in

, Northern Ireland on 10 March 2016 while on a shopping trip with his wife and children and was held for more than 2 years and 8 months in Maghaberry Prison near

Lisburn Lisburn (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with ...

in County Antrim. Calls for Tony Taylor's release came from members of

Derry City and Strabane District Council Derry City and Strabane District Council ( ga, Comhairle Chathair Dhoire agus Cheantar an tSratha Báin; Ulster-Scots: ''Derry Cittie & Stràbane Destrìck Cooncil'') is the local authority for Derry and Strabane district in Northern Ireland. I ...

, Mayor of Derry,

Maolíosa McHugh Maolíosa McHugh ( , ) is a Sinn Féin politician from County Tyrone, Northern Ireland who has served as Member of the Legislative Assembly for the West Tyrone constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly since 28 May 2019. Previously, he was ...

, Northern Ireland MP

Elisha McCallion Elisha McCallion (; born 21 October 1982) is an Irish former Sinn Féin politician who served as a Senator for the Industrial and Commercial Panel from April 2020 until October 2020. She previously served as Mayor of Derry from 2015 to 2016, a M ...

, and Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Simon Coveney. Taylor's case was also raised in the

Irish Senate Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, the European Parliament and the Commissioner for Human Rights. The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) said that Tony Taylor's license was revoked by the Parole Commission because he posed a risk to the public, but his legal team were excluded from hearing evidence against him, which was heard in a closed session. On 28 November 2018, Taylor was freed after 993 days of imprisonment.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Tony Living people Republicans imprisoned during the Northern Ireland conflict Year of birth missing (living people)