John Turnley (1935 – 5 June 1980) was an Irish politician and activist. Originally from a unionist background, he was gradually drawn to

Irish nationalism Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of c ...

and became a

republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

activist. He was assassinated in 1980 by

loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

Carnlough Carnlough ( ; ) is a village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is situated in Mid and East Antrim district, as well the historic Barony (Ireland), barony of Glenarm Lower, and the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parishes of Ardclinis and Tic ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

Background

A teacher by profession, Turnley was born into a wealthy landed Protestant family. He attended Rockport School in Holywood, Co Down. His father was a leading member of the

Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule m ...

. After serving as a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer, Turnley worked in Japan, marrying a Japanese woman. In 1972 he returned to

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, set up home in his native Carnlough and joined the

Social Democratic and Labour Party The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) ( ga, Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is a social-democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland ...

(SDLP). Upon joining the SDLP, his father reacted by trying to disinherit him.Dillon, Martin (1989). ''The Dirty War''. London: Arrow Books. p.296 The following year, he stood unsuccessfully for the party in the local government elections for Larne borough council, and was also unsuccessful in North Antrim at the

1973 Northern Ireland Assembly election Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. P ...

. He took second place in an Assembly by-election the following year, and in 1975 he was elected to the

Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention (NICC) was an elected body set up in 1975 by the United Kingdom Labour government of Harold Wilson as an attempt to deal with constitutional issues surrounding the status of Northern Ireland. F ...

. He was also elected to Larne council in 1977, representing Larne 'Area A' which covered the Coast Road areas. Turnley became disillusioned with the SDLP in the late 1970s, and in October 1977 became a founder member of the newly formed

Irish Independence Party The Irish Independence Party (IIP) was a nationalist political party in Northern Ireland, founded in October 1977 p. 135. by Frank McManus (former Unity MP for Fermanagh & South Tyrone between 1970 and 1974) and Fergus McAteer (son of Eddie Mc ...

, becoming the party chairman. He unsuccessfully contested North Antrim in the 1979 Westminster Election.North Antrim 1973–82
/ref> He also became a leading member of the National H-Blocks Committee, which sought to obtain political status for Irish Republican prisoners.

Assassination

In June 1980, Turnley drove to Carnlough, for a meeting with other councillors to discuss development in the area. When his car came to a halt, three

Ulster Defence Association The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 as an umbrella group for various loyalist groups and undertook an armed campaign of almost 24 years as one of t ...

(UDA) gunmen struck, firing numerous shots, hitting Turnley several times in the chest and body. He died in the ambulance on the way to

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic territory) is a town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, with a population of 18,755 at the 2011 Census. It is a major passenger and freight roll-on roll-off port. Larne is administered by Mid ...

's Moyle Hospital. Two years later, three men from Larne were convicted of his murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. One of the three men, Robert "Bobby" McConnell, later joined the

(UUP) and holds the position of vice chairman of the West Belfast Ulster Unionist Association. He was selected to run in the 2011 Belfast council elections (for th
Court DEA
) but was unsuccessful. McConnell was also convicted of the murder of a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in Larne six weeks after the assassination of Turnley."Booze sorry now"
Sunday Life 20 March 2011 Retrieved 13 May 2015

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turnley, John 1930s births 1980 deaths 1980 murders in the United Kingdom Assassinated politicians from Northern Ireland British Army officers Members of Larne Borough Council Deaths by firearm in Northern Ireland Members of the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention Irish republicans People educated at Rockport School People from Ballycastle, County Antrim People killed by the Ulster Defence Association People murdered in Northern Ireland Place of birth missing Protestant Irish nationalists Social Democratic and Labour Party politicians