Edward "Eddie" Fullerton (26 March 1935 – 25 May 1991) was a

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...

councillor from

Inishowen Inishowen () is a peninsula in the north of County Donegal in Ireland. Inishowen is the largest peninsula on the island of Ireland. The Inishowen peninsula includes Ireland's most northerly point, Malin Head. The Grianan of Aileach, a ringfort ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconn ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. He was killed at his

Buncrana Buncrana ( ; ) is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is beside Lough Swilly on the Inishowen peninsula, northwest of Derry and north of Letterkenny. In the 2016 census, the population was 6,785 making it the second most populous town in C ...

home in May 1991 by members of the

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).

Childhood and career

The eldest of John and Mary (or Maria) Fullerton's 20 children, Fullerton emigrated to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

at the age of 18, and then moved to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He became involved in

Irish republicanism Irish republicanism ( ga, poblachtánachas Éireannach) is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate. The develop ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

, where he also met and married Diana ( Peach). They returned to Ireland in 1975 and had six children. He was elected to

Donegal County Council Donegal County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Dhún na nGall) is the authority responsible for local government in County Donegal, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for hou ...

for Sinn Féin in 1979, and held his seat until his assassination at age 56.

Death

At two o'clock in the morning, on 25 May 1991, Fullerton and his wife were woken by the sound of their front door being knocked in with a sledgehammer.

Ulster loyalist Ulster loyalism is a strand of Ulster unionism associated with working class Ulster Protestants in Northern Ireland. Like other unionists, loyalists support the continued existence of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom, and oppose a u ...

paramilitaries shot Fullerton six times from the stairs as he left the bedroom to investigate the noise.

Police file

A month later, a documentary on British television revealed that a police file from Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) intelligence containing Fullerton's photograph and details was found in the possession of the UDA in Derry. The weapon used to kill him was recovered two years later. The perpetrators were never found. The Fullerton family has long campaigned for an independent public inquiry into the events surrounding his death. This was the third killing of an elected representative in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

since its independence from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Aftermath

The shooting dead by the IRA's Derry Brigade of high ranking UDA commander and UDP member Cecil McKnight in the Waterside area of Londonderry a month later was claimed as retaliation for the death of Fullerton.

Arrest

On 12 December 2021, a 56 year old man was arrested around 10am as he was about to attend church in Muff, County Donegal. He was detained under section 30 of the Offences against the person Act and can be detained for up to three days. He was taken to Letterkenny Garda station for questioning. It is the first arrest in the case. The arrested man was released without charge the following day. A file was to be prepared by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

References

External links

Relatives for Justice page on Cllr. Eddie Fullerton
1935 births 1991 deaths Assassinated Irish politicians Deaths by firearm in the Republic of Ireland Local councillors in County Donegal People from Buncrana People from County Donegal People killed by the Ulster Defence Association People murdered in the Republic of Ireland Sinn Féin politicians Terrorism deaths in Ireland 1991 murders in the Republic of Ireland {{SinnFéin-politician-stub