Martyn Turner


Martyn Turner is an English and Irish political cartoonist, caricaturist and writer. His cartoons appear daily in The Irish Times parodying current events.
Turner was born in Wanstead, Essex and grew up in London. He was educated at Bancroft's School. In 1967, he went to Belfast and enrolled at the Queen's University of 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 and Northern Ireland politics have dominated his work to this day.
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 4 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 round the world.
He has also worked for various British 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.
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.

Honoraria

Turner was named:

Publications

Solo works

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

Collaborative works