23 Facts About Ronnie Bunting

Ronnie Bunting was a Protestant Irish republican and socialist activist in Ireland.

Ronnie Bunting became a member of the Official IRA in the early 1970s and was a founder-member of the Irish National Liberation Army in 1974.

Ronnie Bunting became leader of the INLA in 1978 and was assassinated in 1980 aged 32.

Ronnie Bunting's father became a supporter and associate of Ian Paisley and ran for election under the Protestant Unionist Party banner.

Unlike most Protestants in Northern Ireland, Ronnie Bunting became a militant republican.

Ronnie Bunting's father, by contrast, was a committed Ulster loyalist, who organised armed stewards for counter-demonstrations called by Ian Paisley, most infamously at the Burntollet Bridge incident, when his followers attacked a People's Democracy civil rights march on 4 January 1969.

Ronnie Bunting was briefly a member of People's Democracy between 1968 and 1970, before joining Official Sinn Fein.

Ronnie Bunting married his wife Suzanne in 1969 while still a student.

Some time around 1970, as a result of his left wing, secular interpretation of Irish republicanism, as well as a belief in the necessity of armed revolution, Ronnie Bunting joined the Official Irish Republican Army.

In 1974, Ronnie Bunting followed Seamus Costello and other militants who disagreed with the OIRA's ceasefire of 1972, into a new grouping called the Irish National Liberation Army.

Ronnie Bunting stated that masked men had visited the Bunting home looking for Ronnie.

On 5 March 1975, Ronnie Bunting survived an assassination attempt when he was shot by an Official IRA sniper when driving out of the Turf Lodge area of West Belfast.

Ronnie Bunting was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital on the Falls Road and survived.

The attempts on Ronnie Bunting's life caused serious distress to his wife, resulting in him and his family moving to Wales until July 1975, when he moved to Dublin.

Ronnie Bunting later returned to Belfast in late 1976, becoming the Commanding officer of the Belfast INLA.

Ronnie Bunting called in claims of responsibility to the media by the code name "Captain Green", mimicking the Ulster Freedom Fighters' code name of "Captain Black".

Ronnie Bunting later discovered the RUC were looking for him in relation to the kidnapping, and turned himself in to the nearest police station alongside the SDLP's Paddy Devlin.

Ronnie Bunting was then taken to Castlereagh interrogation centre, where he claimed he was abused, beaten and had the initials 'UVF' scratched on his arm.

Ronnie Bunting was convicted and fined a year later, though this decision was reversed on appeal.

In May 1978, Ronnie Bunting was involved in an attempted INLA robbery of a bank in Mallow, County Cork.

Ronnie Bunting subsequently became a member on the IRSP Ard Chomhairle as the regional delegate for Belfast.

Ronnie Bunting was held for several days, refusing to answer questions.

Suzanne Ronnie Bunting, who was shot in the face, survived her serious injuries.