John Turnley

John Turnley was a Northern Irish Protestant nationalist politician and activist. He was assassinated in 1980.

After serving as a British Army officer, [ [http://www.phoblacht.net/jc711054g.html THE BLANKET * Index: Current Articles ] ] Turnley worked in Japan, marrying a Japanese woman. [ [http://www.nuzhound.com/articles/arts2001/anne_cad11-25-01.htm Newshound: Links to daily newspaper articles about Northern Ireland ] ] In 1972 he returned to Northern Ireland and joined the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) [ [http://republican-news.org/archive/2000/June08/08back.html An Phoblacht/Republican News ] ] . 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 Northern Ireland Assembly election, 1973.

He took second place in an Assembly by-election the following year, and in 1975 he was elected to the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention. He was also elected to Larne council in 1977, representing Larne 'Area A' which covered the Coast Road areas. [ [http://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/73-81lglarne.htm Local Government Elections 1973 - 1981: Larne ] ]

Turnley became disillusioned with the SDLP in the late seventies and in October 1977 became a founder member of the newly formed Irish Independence Party becoming the party chairman. He unsuccessfully contested North Antrim in the 1979 Westminster Election. [ [http://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/cna.htm North Antrim 1973-82 ] ] He also became a leading member of the National H-Blocks Committee which sought to obtain political status for Irish Republican prisoners.

In June 1980, Turnley drove to Carnlough village for a meeting with other councillors to discuss development in the area. When his car came to a halt three Ulster Defence Association gunmen struck, firing numerous shots, hitting Turnley several times in the chest and body. He died in the ambulance on the way to Larne's Moyle Hospital. Two years later, three men from Larne were sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder.

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