Maurice Gibson

Sir Maurice Gibson PC (1 May 1913 - 27 April 1987) was a Lord Justice of Appeal in Northern Ireland, he was killed, along with his wife Cecily, Lady Gibson, during an attack by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA).

Sir Maurice was educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution (RBAI) graduated with a law degree from Queen's University, Belfast, elected a bencher in 1961 and described by Lord MacDermott in 1968 as the best lawyer at the Bar. In 1968 he became Chancery Judge and Lord of Appeal in 1977. The couple had two children.^[1]

In 1977 he acquitted the soldier who shot Majella O'Hare, a 12 year old girl. The UK government recently apologised for this killing and said the justification he accepted was "unlikely"^[2].

He and his wife were killed by a remote-controlled car bomb as they drove over the Irish Border back into Northern Ireland on 27 April 1987 after a holiday.

As the judge's car reached the border, he stopped to shake hands with the Garda security escort who had completed their part of the assignment. The couple had only a short drive to meet the RUC escort to Belfast. Between the two points lay the bomb. The explosion threw the Gibson's vehicle across the road, killing the couple immediately^[3].^[1]

The explosion also injured Ireland national rugby union team players Nigel Carr, David Irwin and Philip Rainey who were in a car on the same road^[4]

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 had tipped off the IRA of the Gibson's travel arrangements. Cory found no evidence to warrant a public inquiry into the incident.

References

• Toby Harnden. Bandit Country: The IRA and South Armagh, Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, 1999, paperback 404 pages, ISBN 0-340-71736-X
• Cory Collusion Inquiry Report - Lord Justice Gibson and Lady Gibson 07 October 2003