Martyn Turner

Martyn Turner is an English-born Irish political cartoonist, caricaturist and writer, working for the Irish Times since 1971. His cartoons appear four times a week in the newspaper, parodying current events.

Life

Early life and education

Turner was born in Wanstead, Essex and grew up in London. He was educated at Bancroft's School. In 1967, he went to Belfast, enrolling at Queen's University Belfast where he read geography. Turner was the first member of his family to go to university. Returning to London for his first Christmas break from college, he learned that his grandparents came from both Irish Catholic and Scottish Presbyterian backgrounds. He declared himself neutral in all matters northern Irish.
Living in Belfast exposed Turner to the sectarianism of the city and he experienced the initial years of the Troubles. Northern Ireland politics have been a major theme in his work.

Career

Around 1970, he began drawing professionally for the Sunday News. Upon graduation, he joined the Belfast current affairs magazine Fortnight, where he became assistant editor, editor and then co-editor with Tom Hadden. In 1976 he was made political cartoonist at the Irish Times, where he still draws four cartoons a week and writes occasionally. The Cartoonists and Writers Syndicate / New York Times distribute some of Turner's cartoons to over 200 journals and newspapers around the world.
He has also worked for British various publications such as The Scotsman, Business AM, The Business, The Sunday Express, The Independent, The Guardian and The Spectator and the Paris-based current affairs magazine Courrier International, as well as The Washington Post.

Personal life

Turner lives in County Kildare with his wife. In 2020, he became an Irish citizen through naturalisation. He has one son and two grandsons. He is a lifelong supporter of Leyton Orient.

Recognition

Turner has been recognised and honoured with:

Publications

Solo works

End Games
Turner's Taoisigh – My Brush With Kildare Street
Our Work Here Is Done
Up Every Tree- The bumper Book of Bertie
Martyn Turner's Greatest Hits
Railings
The Golfer's Guide to World History
Brace Yourself, Bridge It!
The Noble Art of Politics
Pack Up Your Troubles
The Odd Couple
Politics et al.
The Long Goodbye: A cartoon tribute to a Taoiseach
The Man Who Won the Tour De France
Not Viking Likely
Heavy Weather
Fistful of Dáilers
'Illuminations'
Martyn Turner: The Book

In 2007,2008,2009,2010 and 2011 The Irish Times published a calendar of Turner cartoons, given away free with the newspaper

Collaborative works

Thin Black Lines Rides Again – Colm Regan, Scott Sinclair, Martyn Turner
Cattle Rustling: A Retelling of the Táin – James Simmons, Martyn Turner
Thin Black Lines – Colm Regan, Scott Sinclair
''Columba – A cartoon History of The Americas''
Illustration
Pull the Door Marked Push: Inside the High I. Q. Society – Anne Schulman