Samuel Turner (informer)
Encyclopedia
Samuel Turner was an Irish barrister, a Protestant supporter of the United Irishmen who turned informer.
, a gentleman of good fortune in County Armagh
. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin
, where he entered on 2 July 1780, graduating B.A. in 1784, and LL.D. in 1787. Turner was called to the Irish bar in 1788, but does not seem to have practised, and became involved in the United Irish movement. He was closely associated with the northern leaders of the United Irishmen, and was a member of the executive committee when its principal leaders were arrested in 1798.
Turner had escaped to the continent early in 1797, and spent the next few years at Hamburg
, where he maintained the most intimate relations with the Irish patriots. He was included in the act of attainder in 1798 as one concerned in the rebellion ; but in 1803, on the death of his father, he returned to Ireland, and appeared at the bar of the king’s bench, when the attainder was reversed, with the assent of the attorney-general, on proof of Turner's absence from Ireland for upwards of a year prior to the outbreak of the insurrection. Thenceforward he continued to reside in Dublin until his death, preserving to the end the reputation of a patriot among the popular party in Ireland, and enjoying the friendship of Daniel O'Connell
.
William John Fitzpatrick
identified him with the mysterious visitor to Lord Downshire
, mentioned by James Anthony Froude
in his English in Ireland as having in 1797 betrayed important secrets to the Irish government, and with "Richardson", "Furnes", and other aliases under which he was known to the government, and by which he is mentioned in the Castlereagh correspondence and elsewhere. For his services as an informer Turner was awarded a secret pension of £300 a year by the government, which was subsequently increased to £500. Sir Arthur Wellesley mentioned him in a letter, dated 5 December 1807, as having strong claims to the favour of the government.
According to Fitzpatrick, Turner was killed in the Isle of Man
in a duel with a certain Boyce.
Life
He was the son of Jacob Turner of Turner's Glen, near NewryNewry
Newry is a city in Northern Ireland. The River Clanrye, which runs through the city, formed the historic border between County Armagh and County Down. It is from Belfast and from Dublin. Newry had a population of 27,433 at the 2001 Census, while Newry and Mourne Council Area had a population...
, a gentleman of good fortune in County Armagh
County Armagh
-History:Ancient Armagh was the territory of the Ulaid before the fourth century AD. It was ruled by the Red Branch, whose capital was Emain Macha near Armagh. The site, and subsequently the city, were named after the goddess Macha...
. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
, where he entered on 2 July 1780, graduating B.A. in 1784, and LL.D. in 1787. Turner was called to the Irish bar in 1788, but does not seem to have practised, and became involved in the United Irish movement. He was closely associated with the northern leaders of the United Irishmen, and was a member of the executive committee when its principal leaders were arrested in 1798.
Turner had escaped to the continent early in 1797, and spent the next few years at Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, where he maintained the most intimate relations with the Irish patriots. He was included in the act of attainder in 1798 as one concerned in the rebellion ; but in 1803, on the death of his father, he returned to Ireland, and appeared at the bar of the king’s bench, when the attainder was reversed, with the assent of the attorney-general, on proof of Turner's absence from Ireland for upwards of a year prior to the outbreak of the insurrection. Thenceforward he continued to reside in Dublin until his death, preserving to the end the reputation of a patriot among the popular party in Ireland, and enjoying the friendship of Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847; often referred to as The Liberator, or The Emancipator, was an Irish political leader in the first half of the 19th century...
.
William John Fitzpatrick
William John Fitzpatrick
William John Fitzpatrick was an Irish historian.-Life:He was born in Thomas Street, Dublin. The son of a rich merchant, he had an interest in investigative biography...
identified him with the mysterious visitor to Lord Downshire
Arthur Hill, 2nd Marquess of Downshire
Arthur Hill, 2nd Marquess of Downshire PC, FRS , styled Viscount Kilwarlin until 1789 and Earl of Hillsborough from 1789 to 1793, was a British peer and MP.-Life:...
, mentioned by James Anthony Froude
James Anthony Froude
James Anthony Froude , 23 April 1818–20 October 1894, was an English historian, novelist, biographer, and editor of Fraser's Magazine. From his upbringing amidst the Anglo-Catholic Oxford Movement, Froude intended to become a clergyman, but doubts about the doctrines of the Anglican church,...
in his English in Ireland as having in 1797 betrayed important secrets to the Irish government, and with "Richardson", "Furnes", and other aliases under which he was known to the government, and by which he is mentioned in the Castlereagh correspondence and elsewhere. For his services as an informer Turner was awarded a secret pension of £300 a year by the government, which was subsequently increased to £500. Sir Arthur Wellesley mentioned him in a letter, dated 5 December 1807, as having strong claims to the favour of the government.
According to Fitzpatrick, Turner was killed in the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
in a duel with a certain Boyce.