Sir Maurice Gibson, PC (1 May 1913 – 25 April 1987), was a

Lord Justice of Appeal A Lord Justice of Appeal or Lady Justice of Appeal is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, the Crown Court and other courts and tribunals. A Lord (or Lady) Just ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. He was killed, along with his wife Cecily, Lady Gibson by the

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...

(IRA).

Biography

Sir Maurice was born in Montpelier House,

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

. He was educated at the

Royal Belfast Academical Institution The Royal Belfast Academical Institution is an independent grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With the support of Belfast's leading reformers and democrats, it opened its doors in 1814. Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today ...

and graduated with a law degree from

Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

. He was called to the bar in 1937 and subsequently elected a

bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher c ...

in 1961 and described by Lord MacDermott in 1968 as the best lawyer at the Bar. In 1968 he became Chancery Judge and in 1977 Lord Justice of Appeal. The couple had two children. In 1977, he acquitted the soldier who shot

Majella O'Hare Majella O'Hare ( – 14 August 1976) was a 12-year-old schoolgirl who was shot in the back by a British paratrooper while walking to church in Whitecross, in August 1976. Killing On 14 August, 1976, Majella, along with some friends, was goin ...

, a 12-year-old girl. The UK government apologised for this killing in 2011 and said the justification Gibson accepted was "unlikely".

Death

Lord Justice Gibson and his wife were killed by a remote controlled

car bomb A car bomb, bus bomb, van bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles. Car bombs can be roug ...

as they drove over the

Irish border Irish commonly refers to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the island and the sovereign state ***Erse (disambiguatio ...

back into

on 25 April 1987 after a holiday in the United States. As the judge's car reached Drumad, the

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

on the

County Louth County Louth ( ; ) is a coastal Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of County Meath, Meath to the ...

side of the border, he stopped to shake hands with the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace") is the national police and security service of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards". The service is headed by the Garda Commissio ...

security escort who had completed their part of the assignment. The couple had only a short drive to meet the

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the ...

escort to

. Between the two points lay the bomb, near a

petrol station A filling station (also known as a gas station [] or petrol station []) is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold are gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Fuel dispensers are used to ...

near Killean in

County Armagh County Armagh ( ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It is located in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and adjoins the southern shore of Lough Neagh. It borders t ...

. The explosion threw the Gibsons' vehicle across the road, killing the couple immediately. The explosion also injured

Ireland national rugby union team The Ireland national rugby union team is the men's representative national team for the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ireland competes in the annual Six Nations Champio ...

players Nigel Carr, David Irwin and Philip Rainey who were in a car on the same road. The case was investigated by the Cory Collusion Inquiry into cases of collusion between security forces and paramilitaries after persistent questions over whether the Garda Siochana had tipped off the IRA of the Gibson's travel arrangements. Cory found insufficient evidence to warrant a public inquiry into the incident. The later Smithwick Tribunal found that Cory had been "mistaken" in questioning the reliability of intelligence that a member of the Garda had helped the IRA in the Gibsons' murders, and in May 2014, former Northern Ireland First Minister Lord Trimble called for an inquiry into whether there was collusion.

References

* Toby Harnden. ''Bandit Country: The IRA and South Armagh'', Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, 1999, paperback 404 pages, {{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Maurice 1913 births People killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom British terrorism victims Terrorism deaths in Northern Ireland Knights Bachelor Lords Justice of Appeal of Northern Ireland High Court judges of Northern Ireland People murdered in Northern Ireland Northern Ireland King's Counsel 1987 murders in the United Kingdom 1987 deaths 1980s murders in Northern Ireland 1987 murders in Ireland Deaths by improvised explosive device in Northern Ireland