Veronica Guerin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Veronica Guerin
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Guerin in the 1990s
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| Born | 5 July 1959 Dublin, Ireland
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| Died | 26 June 1996 (aged 36) Naas Dual Carriageway, Newlands Cross, Dublin, Ireland
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| Cause of death | Gunshot wounds |
| Education | Trinity College Dublin |
| Occupation | Accountant, journalist |
| Years active | 1990–1996 |
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Notable credit(s)
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| Spouse(s) |
Graham Turley
(m. 1985) |
| Children | 1 |
Veronica Guerin Turley (5 July 1959 – 26 June 1996) was an Irish crime reporter. Born in Dublin, she was an athlete in school and later played on the Irish national teams for both football and basketball. After studying accountancy she ran a public-relations firm for seven years, before working for Fianna Fáil and as an election agent for Seán Haughey. She became a reporter in 1990, writing for the Sunday Business Post and Sunday Tribune. In 1994 she began writing exposes about organised crime for the Sunday Independent. In 1996 she was fatally shot in a contract killing while stopped at a traffic light. The shooting caused national outrage in Ireland. Investigation into her death led to a number of arrests and convictions.
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Early and personal life
The daughter of Christopher and Bernadette, Guerin was nicknamed "Ronnie." She and her four siblings were born and brought up in Artane, Dublin, and attended St.Mary's secondary school in Killester where she excelled in athletics. Besides basketball and camogie, aged 15 she played in the All-Ireland football finals with a slipped disc. She played for both the Ireland women's national basketball team and Republic of Ireland women's national football team, representing the latter in a match against England at Dalymount Park in May 1981.
Guerin studied accountancy at Trinity College Dublin.
PR career: 1983–1990
After she graduated, her father employed her at his company; but following his death three years later, she changed professions and started a public relations firm in 1983, which she ran for seven years.
In 1983–84, she served as secretary to the Fianna Fáil group at the New Ireland Forum. She served as Charles Haughey's personal assistant, and became a family friend, taking holidays with his children. In 1987 she served as election agent and party treasurer in Dublin North for Seán Haughey.
Journalism career: 1990–1996
In 1990, she changed careers again, switching to journalism as a reporter with the Sunday Business Post and Sunday Tribune, working under editor Damien Kiberd. Craving first-hand information, she pursued a story directly to the source with little regard for her personal safety, to engage those she deemed central to a story. This allowed her to build close relationships with both the legitimate authorities, such as the Garda Síochána (police), and the criminals, with both sides respecting her diligence by providing highly detailed information. She also reported on Irish Republican Army activities in the Republic of Ireland.
From 1994 onwards, she began to write about criminals for the Sunday Independent. Using her accountancy knowledge to trace the proceeds of illegal activity, she used street names or pseudonyms for underworld figures to avoid Irish libel laws.
Guerin received the International Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists in December 1995.
Murder
On 26 June 1996, while driving her red Opel Calibra, Guerin stopped at a red traffic light on the Naas Dual Carriageway near Newlands Cross, on the outskirts of Dublin, unaware she was being followed. She was shot in a contract killing while stopped at a traffic light, by one of two men sitting on a motorcycle.
Her funeral service, on 29 June 1996 at a church in Dublin Airport, was attended by Ireland's Taoiseach John Bruton, and the head of the armed forces. It was covered live by Raidió Teilifís Éireann. On 4 July, labour unions across Ireland called for a moment of silence in her memory, which was duly observed by people around the country. Guerin is buried in Dardistown Cemetery, County Dublin.
Personal life
She married Graham Turley in 1985, and the couple had a son, Cathal (born 1990). She was a supporter of Manchester United football team; her prized possession was a photo of her and Eric Cantona taken on a visit to Old Trafford.
Turley remarried in 2011. Guerin and Turley's son, Cathal Turley, relocated to Dubai and, as of 2021, manages an Irish pub at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
Memorials and legacy
A memorial statue to Guerin is located in Dubh Linn Gardens, in the grounds of Dublin Castle.
On 2 May 1997, at a ceremony in Arlington, Virginia, her name and those of 38 other international journalists who died in the line of duty in 1996 were added to the Freedom Forum Journalists Memorial. Her husband addressed the audience: "Veronica stood for freedom to write. She stood as light, and wrote of life in Ireland today, and told the truth. Veronica was not a judge, nor was she a juror, but she paid the ultimate price with the sacrifice of her life."
In 2000, Guerin was named as one of the International Press Institute's 50 World Press Freedom Heroes of the past 50 years.
In 2007, the Veronica Guerin Memorial Scholarship was set up at Dublin City University, offering a bursary intended to meet the cost of fees and part of the general expenses of an MA in Journalism student who wishes to specialise in investigative journalism.
Two films have been based on her story: When the Sky Falls (2000), starring Joan Allen as Sinead Hamilton and Veronica Guerin (2003), starring Cate Blanchett. A biography titled Veronica Guerin: The Life and Death of a Crime Reporter by Emily O'Reilly, published in 1998, questions the ethics of Guerin's methods of gathering information, and those of the underlying media establishment.
See also
In Spanish: Veronica Guerin para niños
