William J. Staunton

William J. Staunton
Born1928 (1928)
Died(1973-01-25)25 January 1973 (age 46)
Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Cause of deathShot by members of the Irish Republican Army
NationalityBritish
OccupationResident magistrate

William J. Staunton (1928 – 25 January 1973[1]) was a British resident magistrate killed by the IRA.[2]

Staunton was a Roman Catholic member of the judiciary.[3] Shortly before 9 AM on the morning of 11 October 1972, he was driving his daughters and her school friends to St. Dominic's Convent Grammar School, on the Falls Road, Belfast. He stopped the car outside St. Dominic's and the girls got out. As they did so, two members of the IRA upon a motorcycle came alongside the car, the pillion passenger shooting Staunton.[4][5]

He underwent emergency surgery at the Royal Victoria Hospital, and although he regained consciousness he never left hospital before his death on 25 January 1973. He died aged 46.[6]

Staunton was the first of a number of judges killed or attacked by the IRA during the 1970s and 1980s. Others included Rory Conaghan and Martin McBirney in 1974, William Doyle in 1983, and Lord Justice Sir Maurice Gibson in 1987. The IRA were also responsible for the deaths of Lord Justice Gibson's wife Cecily, and Mary Travers (a daughter of Judge Tom Travers), shot alongside her father after leaving a Catholic church.

  1. ^ "3,722 lives lost - the price of peace in a divided island". The Irish Times. 9 May 2007. Retrieved 15 November 2020. 1973 [...] January [...] 25th: William Staunton - West Belfast.
  2. ^ "Protection For NI Judges Increased | Northern Ireland News". 4ni.co.uk. 10 November 2009. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  3. ^ "2 JUDGES KILLED BY I.R.A. GUNMEN". The New York Times. 17 September 1974. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  4. ^ "House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 20 May 1999 (pt 2)". Publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  5. ^ McGarry, Philip (28 January 2015). "The fortunes of the legal and medical professions during the "Troubles" - Presentation to The Northern Ireland Medicolegal Society - October 14 2014" (PDF). Ulster Medical Journal. 84 (2): 119–123. PMC 4488917. PMID 26170490.
  6. ^ Sutton, Michael. "CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths (1973)". Ulster University. Retrieved 27 February 2016.