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

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

councillor from Inishowen in

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. He was killed at his Buncrana home in May 1991 by members of the Ulster Defence Association (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. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

at the age of 18, and then moved to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He became involved in

Irish republicanism Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish Republic, Irish republic, void of any British rule in Ireland, British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed various tactics and identities, simultaneously ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, where he also met and married Dinah Peach. They returned to Ireland in 1975 and had six children. He was elected to Donegal County Council for Sinn Féin in 1979, and held his seat until his assassination at age 56.

Death

At 11:50 pm, four armed members of the Ulster Freedom Fighters (a cover name for the UDA) forced their way into an isolated house in Shandrum, outside Buncrana. They held the family occupying the house hostage for 2 hours before stealing a sledgehammer and their car, both of which were to be used in the killing of Fullerton. At 2:00 am on 25 May 1991, Fullerton and his wife were woken by the sound of their front door being knocked in with a sledgehammer. Fullerton was then shot six times from the stairs as he left the bedroom to investigate the noise. Following the attack, the loyalists fled across the border. The car used in the attack was later found on fire at around 4:05 am at Coney Road on Culmore Point outside

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

. The UDA claimed the killing was retaliation for the

Provisional IRA The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...

killing of Ian Sproule on 13 April 1991 near Castlederg, County Tyrone, alleging that Fullerton had leaked information on Sproule to the IRA from a

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace") is the national police and security service of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards". The service is headed by the Garda Commissio ...

meeting. A subsequent Garda investigation found no evidence supporting the claim.

Police file

A month later, a documentary on British television revealed that a police file from

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the ...

(RUC) intelligence containing Fullerton's photograph and details was found in the possession of the UDA in

. 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 ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the 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 Derry 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 10 am 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 could 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 Members of Donegal County Council People from Buncrana 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 Murder victims from County Donegal European politicians assassinated in the 1990s Politicians assassinated in 1991 Assassinated councillors {{SinnFéin-politician-stub