Lancelot Curran
Encyclopedia
Major Sir Lancelot Ernest Curran (8 March 1899 - 20 October 1984) was a Northern Ireland High Court
judge
and parliamentarian.
He was elected as Ulster Unionist Member of Parliament
for Carrick in the Stormont Parliament serving from 1945 till 1949, and was Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance (Chief Whip
) (17 July 1945 - 12 June 1947). Curran was Attorney General for Northern Ireland (6 June 1947-4 November 1949), the youngest in the history of that parliament. He was a member of the Orange Order and became a member of the Privy Council of Northern Ireland
.
Curran had three children including Patricia and Desmond, a barrister and latterly a Roman Catholic convert and missionary
. In 1952, Patricia, was murder
ed, being found in the driveway of the Curran home, Glen House, Whiteabbey
, County Antrim
, having been stabbed thirty-seven times. She was nineteen and a student at the Queen's University, Belfast. In 2000, Iain Hay Gordon, the man convicted of her murder had his sentence overturned after the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal found it to be unsafe. Eoin McNamee
wrote a Booker Prize-nominated novel, Blue Tango, about the murder, and Scapegoat, a BBC Northern Ireland
drama about the conviction of Iain Hay Gordon was broadcast in 2009.
Curran presided over the the trial of Robert McGladdery
for the murder of 19-year-old Pearl Gamble, near Newry, in 1961. McGladdery protested his innocence but was found guilty and hanged, which was the last hanging on Irish soil.
Curran's first wife, Doris, died on 29 May 1975. He remarried a year later Margaret Pearce. He died in Sussex
in 1984.
Courts of Northern Ireland
The courts of Northern Ireland are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in Northern Ireland: they are constituted and governed by Northern Ireland law....
judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
and parliamentarian.
He was elected as Ulster Unionist Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Carrick in the Stormont Parliament serving from 1945 till 1949, and was Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance (Chief Whip
Chief Whip
The Chief Whip is a political office in some legislatures assigned to an elected member whose task is to administer the whipping system that ensures that members of the party attend and vote as the party leadership desires.-The Whips Office:...
) (17 July 1945 - 12 June 1947). Curran was Attorney General for Northern Ireland (6 June 1947-4 November 1949), the youngest in the history of that parliament. He was a member of the Orange Order and became a member of the Privy Council of Northern Ireland
Privy Council of Northern Ireland
The Privy Council of Northern Ireland was a formal body of advisors to the sovereign and was a vehicle for the monarch's prerogative powers in Northern Ireland. It was modelled on the Privy Council of the United Kingdom....
.
Curran had three children including Patricia and Desmond, a barrister and latterly a Roman Catholic convert and missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
. In 1952, Patricia, was murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
ed, being found in the driveway of the Curran home, Glen House, Whiteabbey
Whiteabbey
Whiteabbey is a townland in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is within the urban area called Newtownabbey and the wider Newtownabbey Borough...
, County Antrim
County Antrim
County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000...
, having been stabbed thirty-seven times. She was nineteen and a student at the Queen's University, Belfast. In 2000, Iain Hay Gordon, the man convicted of her murder had his sentence overturned after the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal found it to be unsafe. Eoin McNamee
Eoin McNamee
Eoin McNamee is an Irish writer.He has written two novellas, The Last of Deeds and Love in History , which was shortlisted for the 1989 Irish Times/Aer Lingus Award for Irish Literature; and the novels, Resurrection Man , which detailed the bloodletting of the UVF gang the Shankill Butchers ;...
wrote a Booker Prize-nominated novel, Blue Tango, about the murder, and Scapegoat, a BBC Northern Ireland
BBC Northern Ireland
BBC Northern Ireland is the main public service broadcaster in Northern Ireland.The organisation is one of the three national regions of the BBC, together with BBC Scotland and BBC Wales. Based at Broadcasting House, Belfast, it provides television, radio, online and interactive television content...
drama about the conviction of Iain Hay Gordon was broadcast in 2009.
Curran presided over the the trial of Robert McGladdery
Robert McGladdery
Robert Andrew McGladdery was the last person to be executed in Northern Ireland.He battered, strangled and stabbed Pearl Gamble, aged 19, on 28 January 1961 and left her body at Upper Damolly, near Newry, County Down....
for the murder of 19-year-old Pearl Gamble, near Newry, in 1961. McGladdery protested his innocence but was found guilty and hanged, which was the last hanging on Irish soil.
Curran's first wife, Doris, died on 29 May 1975. He remarried a year later Margaret Pearce. He died in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
in 1984.