Samuel Turner (informer) facts for kids

Samuel Turner (1765–1807) was an Irish lawyer who first supported a group called the United Irishmen. This group wanted to make Ireland more independent. Turner was from Newry and became an important member of the United Irishmen. However, in 1797, he fled to Europe. There, he changed his mind and began to share secrets with the British and Irish governments. He told them about the United Irishmen's plans and members in Ireland, Hamburg, and Paris.

Samuel Turner: A Life of Shifting Loyalties

Early Life and Education

Samuel Turner was born in 1765. His father, Jacob Turner, was a wealthy gentleman from near Newry in County Armagh. Samuel went to Trinity College, Dublin, which is a famous university in Ireland. He studied there from 1780 to 1787.

In 1788, Turner became a lawyer, also known as a barrister. However, it seems he did not work much as a lawyer.

Joining the United Irishmen

Even though there is not much information about his earlier political activities, Samuel Turner joined the United Irishmen in January 1797. This group wanted to bring about political changes in Ireland, including more rights for people and greater independence from Britain. Turner quickly became a leader in the group, even joining its main committee.

By March 1797, he was known as one of the most active members in the Newry area. He was so passionate that in April 1797, he challenged a high-ranking British military leader, Earl Carhampton, to a duel. This happened after Carhampton saw Turner wearing the green color of the United Irishmen and tried to take his necktie. Carhampton later apologized to Turner.

Just a few weeks later, Turner started to think about giving himself up under a special government offer that allowed people to surrender without punishment. However, he still seemed loyal to the United Irishmen. In early June, he was one of five leaders from Ulster who met in Dublin. They discussed how ready they were for an uprising and if they should expect help from France.

Like other leaders who were worried about being arrested, Turner soon left Ireland and went to Hamburg, a city in Germany. In the late summer of 1797, he visited Paris, France, and met with the French foreign minister. When he returned to Hamburg, the French ambassador gave him a special travel pass. This allowed him to go to London and meet with Lord Edward FitzGerald, who was a top leader of the United Irishmen, and also with Lord Downshire.

Becoming an Informer

When Turner met with Lord Downshire, he offered to tell everything he knew about the United Irishmen. He named about 22 or 23 of the main leaders from early 1797. He explained that he had joined the group for patriotic reasons. But he now believed that some members had goals that would harm the country.

Money was also a reason for his change of heart. He wrote to Lord Downshire, asking if the British Prime Minister, Mr. Pitt, could give him "a cool five-hundred" (meaning £500). In mid-November 1797, Turner went back to Hamburg. He was now secretly working for both sides, acting as a double agent.

Turner traveled between Hamburg, London, and Paris. Through Lord Downshire, he kept the British government informed about messages between the United Irish leaders in Dublin and their contacts in Europe, as well as the French government. He played a part in the arrests of James Coigly and Arthur O'Connor in England in March 1798. Coigly was later executed. He had been trying to organize a rebellion in Ireland with French help and a revolt by other groups in England.

After the Irish Rebellion of 1798 was defeated, Turner caused more arguments among the Irish people living in Paris. He supported James Napper Tandy against another leader, Edward Lewines. In August 1798, he told London about France preparing three military trips to Ireland. In Hamburg, he helped with the arrests of Tandy (who had returned from a failed landing in Ireland), James Bartholomew Blackwell, William Corbet, and Hervey Montmorency Morres in November 1798.

Turner stayed in Hamburg off and on, providing information about how the Irish exiles were trying to restart their movement. In late summer 1802, he went to Paris. He later said that some fellow Irishmen suspected him. He was put in prison for nine weeks and then kept under watch for eight months.

When he heard his father had died, and after the failure of Emmet's uprising in Dublin in July 1803, Turner returned to Ireland in August 1803. He knew that the dream of renewing the United Irish struggle was over.

Later Life and Legacy

In 1798, a special law was passed against Turner, but it was later canceled. This happened because he could prove he had been out of Ireland for more than a year before the rebellion started.

Turner lived quietly in Dublin. His address was listed as Stephen's Green in a directory of lawyers from 1804 to 1810. People did not widely suspect that he had been an informer until the memoirs of James Hope were published in 1846. These memoirs were part of a book series by Richard Robert Madden called United Irishmen.

An Irish historian named William John Fitzpatrick was told that Samuel Turner was killed around 1810 in a duel on the Isle of Man. The person he fought was named Boyce. However, there is no clear proof of this duel or if Turner ever had a wife or children.