Muriel Gibson (loyalist)
Encyclopedia
Muriel Gibson is a leading Northern Irish loyalist
who was a member of the Loyalist Volunteer Force
(LVF). The organisation was founded in 1996 by Billy Wright
. She was acquitted of murdering a Catholic council worker, Adrian Lamph, in 1998, but convicted in January 2007 and sentenced to eight years imprisonment for destroying evidence following the 1998 murder, impeding the arrest and prosecution of his killers, and LVF membership. She was also found guilty of withholding information regarding a shooting, possession of firearms, detonators and pipe bombs.
Her co-accused, LVF leader Jim Fulton, was convicted of directing the 1999 murder of Elizabeth O'Neill, along with a series of other offences, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Their trial, which lasted from September 2005 until December 2006, was the longest in the legal history of Northern Ireland.
, County Armagh
, Northern Ireland on 29 September 1949 and was brought up as a Protestant. She grew up in Portadown's Brownstown estate. In the early 1970s she met her former husband, William Landry, a Native American
, on hippie camp trips. Together they have two sons, Mahatma and Oddysseus; and three daughters, Rain, Talutha and Aisha. Gibson and Landry divorced around 1999 or 2000. Her sons live with her ex-husband in California.
Gibson was charged with possession of a controlled drug in 1969 at Bow Street Magistrates' Court
when she was 19 years old. In 1990, she was imprisoned for a year in the United States for possession of illegal drugs. Upon her release in 1991, she returned to Northern Ireland.
, leader of the Ulster Volunteer Force's (UVF) Mid-Ulster Brigade
, formed the breakaway group, the Loyalist Volunteer Force
(LVF). This came about when Wright and the Mid-Ulster's Portadown unit were stood down by the UVF's Brigade Staff (Belfast leadership) following the unsanctioned killing of a Catholic taxi driver, Michael McGoldrick, by the Mid-Ulster Brigade while the UVF were on ceasefire. Expelled from the UVF and threatened with execution, Wright defied the Belfast leadership and took most of the officially-disbanded Portadown unit with him, including brothers Mark "Swinger" Fulton
and Jim Fulton. Gibson also became a member of the new loyalist paramilitary organisation. In June 1997 the LVF was proscribed by the British Government. Six months later, Wright was shot dead at the Maze Prison by the Irish National Liberation Army
(INLA) and Mark Fulton took over as the LVF's leader.
On 21 April 1998, 29 year-old Catholic council worker, Adrian Lamph was killed outside Fair Green Amenity Centre in Portadown. He was shot in the head at close range by a LVF gunman on a mountain bike wearing a red scarf over his face. The shot allegedly hit Lamph between the eyes and blew his head off. Gibson later claimed she came upon the naked gunman in an alleyway. She took away the gun used in the shooting and hid it, while another LVF member burned his clothing to destroy evidence. She also arranged for the bike to be thrown into the river. Lamph was the last victim of the LVF before they called a ceasefire in May 1998. In 1999, Gibson got into a violent street altercation with Mid-Ulster UVF brigadier Richard Jameson
, who slapped her forcefully in the face after he had falsely accused her of involvement in drugs. She left Northern Ireland the same year along with two of her daughters, and transferred to England. She first took up residence at a bed-and-breakfast in Plymouth, Devon but shortly afterwards moved to Cornwall. Immediately after her arrival in England she was put under police surveillance. The following January, Jameson was shot dead by the LVF outside his home in Portadown. In March 2000, Fulton was deported from the United States for breaches of immigration laws and went to live in Plymouth.
, where she had been living, following taped conversations the three women had with Fulton and undercover police officers in which they boasted about their involvement in various LVF-related attacks and revealed the names of the perpetrators. She also admitted to having extorted money by threatening the owners and workers of local Portadown building sites and bars. Gibson had returned from a holiday in Portugal
when she was arrested and brought from Cornwall to London for questioning. After four days, she and Rain were flown to Northern Ireland where they faced charges relating to terrorism. Talutha was eventually released by the London police without having been charged. At the Craigavon Magistrates Court, Gibson was accused of the murder of Adrian Lamph and Rain was charged with an arson attack and causing an explosion. Gibson pleaded not guilty, while Rain refused to answer the plea.
When Mark Fulton was found dead in Maghaberry Prison of an apparent suicide in June 2002, Jim Fulton succeeded his brother as the LVF's commander.
Gibson and Jim Fulton were indicted jointly but charged separately. Their trial, which took place at the Belfast Crown Court, lasted from September 2005 to December 2006, making it the longest in Northern Ireland's legal history. Gibson faced a total of 11 charges, including the murder of Lamph and conspiring to cause explosions in the Republic of Ireland
, all of which she denied. She claimed in her defence that she had lied to the undercover police officers in an effort to impress them. Her taped conversations with the undercover police officers in England were presented at court. Although Gibson was acquitted of Lamph's murder, she was convicted of destroying evidence, and impeding the arrest and prosecution of his killers. She was also convicted of LVF membership, withholding information about a shooting, and possession of firearms, detonators and pipe bombs. The pipe bombs were used at the 1998 Drumcree standoff
and the detonators were to be used in a proposed bombing campaign in the Republic of Ireland in 1997. She was sentenced by Mr. Justice Harte in January 2007 to eight years imprisonment. Her co-accused Jim Fulton received a life sentence for directing the pipe-bomb killing of Elizabeth O'Neill (a Protestant married to a Catholic) and a series of other offences, including seven attempted murders. Gibson, a grandmother, is incarcerated at the Ash House block of Hydebank Young Offenders Centre Centre in Belfast.
Ulster loyalism
Ulster loyalism is an ideology that is opposed to a united Ireland. It can mean either support for upholding Northern Ireland's status as a constituent part of the United Kingdom , support for Northern Ireland independence, or support for loyalist paramilitaries...
who was a member of the Loyalist Volunteer Force
Loyalist Volunteer Force
The Loyalist Volunteer Force is a loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed by Billy Wright in 1996 when he and the Portadown unit of the Ulster Volunteer Force's Mid-Ulster Brigade was stood down by the UVF leadership. He had been the commander of the Mid-Ulster Brigade. The...
(LVF). The organisation was founded in 1996 by Billy Wright
Billy Wright (loyalist)
William Stephen "Billy" Wright was a prominent Ulster loyalist during the period of violent religious/political conflict known as "The Troubles". He joined the Ulster Volunteer Force in 1975 and became commander of its Mid-Ulster Brigade in the early 1990s...
. She was acquitted of murdering a Catholic council worker, Adrian Lamph, in 1998, but convicted in January 2007 and sentenced to eight years imprisonment for destroying evidence following the 1998 murder, impeding the arrest and prosecution of his killers, and LVF membership. She was also found guilty of withholding information regarding a shooting, possession of firearms, detonators and pipe bombs.
Her co-accused, LVF leader Jim Fulton, was convicted of directing the 1999 murder of Elizabeth O'Neill, along with a series of other offences, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Their trial, which lasted from September 2005 until December 2006, was the longest in the legal history of Northern Ireland.
Early years and marriage
Gibson was born in PortadownPortadown
Portadown is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about 23 miles south-west of Belfast...
, County Armagh
County Armagh
-History:Ancient Armagh was the territory of the Ulaid before the fourth century AD. It was ruled by the Red Branch, whose capital was Emain Macha near Armagh. The site, and subsequently the city, were named after the goddess Macha...
, Northern Ireland on 29 September 1949 and was brought up as a Protestant. She grew up in Portadown's Brownstown estate. In the early 1970s she met her former husband, William Landry, a Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
, on hippie camp trips. Together they have two sons, Mahatma and Oddysseus; and three daughters, Rain, Talutha and Aisha. Gibson and Landry divorced around 1999 or 2000. Her sons live with her ex-husband in California.
Gibson was charged with possession of a controlled drug in 1969 at Bow Street Magistrates' Court
Magistrates' Court
A magistrates' court or court of petty sessions, formerly known as a police court, is the lowest level of court in England and Wales and many other common law jurisdictions...
when she was 19 years old. In 1990, she was imprisoned for a year in the United States for possession of illegal drugs. Upon her release in 1991, she returned to Northern Ireland.
Loyalist Volunteer Force
Gibson became involved in loyalist paramilitary activities in December 1991, shortly after her return to Northern Ireland from her sojourn in the United States and imprisonment. In 1996, Billy WrightBilly Wright (loyalist)
William Stephen "Billy" Wright was a prominent Ulster loyalist during the period of violent religious/political conflict known as "The Troubles". He joined the Ulster Volunteer Force in 1975 and became commander of its Mid-Ulster Brigade in the early 1990s...
, leader of the Ulster Volunteer Force's (UVF) Mid-Ulster Brigade
UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade
UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade formed part of the loyalist paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force in Northern Ireland. The brigade was established in Lurgan, County Armagh in 1972 by its first commander Billy Hanna. The unit operated mainly around the Lurgan and Portadown areas. Subsequent leaders of the...
, formed the breakaway group, the Loyalist Volunteer Force
Loyalist Volunteer Force
The Loyalist Volunteer Force is a loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed by Billy Wright in 1996 when he and the Portadown unit of the Ulster Volunteer Force's Mid-Ulster Brigade was stood down by the UVF leadership. He had been the commander of the Mid-Ulster Brigade. The...
(LVF). This came about when Wright and the Mid-Ulster's Portadown unit were stood down by the UVF's Brigade Staff (Belfast leadership) following the unsanctioned killing of a Catholic taxi driver, Michael McGoldrick, by the Mid-Ulster Brigade while the UVF were on ceasefire. Expelled from the UVF and threatened with execution, Wright defied the Belfast leadership and took most of the officially-disbanded Portadown unit with him, including brothers Mark "Swinger" Fulton
Mark Fulton (loyalist)
Mark "Swinger" Fulton was a Northern Irish loyalist. He was the leader of the Loyalist Volunteer Force , having taken over its command following the killing of the paramilitary organisation's founder, Billy Wright, in the Maze Prison in 1997 by members of the Irish National Liberation Army .Fulton...
and Jim Fulton. Gibson also became a member of the new loyalist paramilitary organisation. In June 1997 the LVF was proscribed by the British Government. Six months later, Wright was shot dead at the Maze Prison by the Irish National Liberation Army
Irish National Liberation Army
The Irish National Liberation Army or INLA is an Irish republican socialist paramilitary group that was formed on 8 December 1974. Its goal is to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a socialist united Ireland....
(INLA) and Mark Fulton took over as the LVF's leader.
On 21 April 1998, 29 year-old Catholic council worker, Adrian Lamph was killed outside Fair Green Amenity Centre in Portadown. He was shot in the head at close range by a LVF gunman on a mountain bike wearing a red scarf over his face. The shot allegedly hit Lamph between the eyes and blew his head off. Gibson later claimed she came upon the naked gunman in an alleyway. She took away the gun used in the shooting and hid it, while another LVF member burned his clothing to destroy evidence. She also arranged for the bike to be thrown into the river. Lamph was the last victim of the LVF before they called a ceasefire in May 1998. In 1999, Gibson got into a violent street altercation with Mid-Ulster UVF brigadier Richard Jameson
Richard Jameson (loyalist)
Richard Jameson , was a Northern Irish businessman and loyalist, who served as the leader of the paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force's Mid-Ulster Brigade...
, who slapped her forcefully in the face after he had falsely accused her of involvement in drugs. She left Northern Ireland the same year along with two of her daughters, and transferred to England. She first took up residence at a bed-and-breakfast in Plymouth, Devon but shortly afterwards moved to Cornwall. Immediately after her arrival in England she was put under police surveillance. The following January, Jameson was shot dead by the LVF outside his home in Portadown. In March 2000, Fulton was deported from the United States for breaches of immigration laws and went to live in Plymouth.
Arrest and imprisonment
In June 2001, Gibson and her two daughters, Rain and Talutha Landry were arrested in CornwallCornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, where she had been living, following taped conversations the three women had with Fulton and undercover police officers in which they boasted about their involvement in various LVF-related attacks and revealed the names of the perpetrators. She also admitted to having extorted money by threatening the owners and workers of local Portadown building sites and bars. Gibson had returned from a holiday in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
when she was arrested and brought from Cornwall to London for questioning. After four days, she and Rain were flown to Northern Ireland where they faced charges relating to terrorism. Talutha was eventually released by the London police without having been charged. At the Craigavon Magistrates Court, Gibson was accused of the murder of Adrian Lamph and Rain was charged with an arson attack and causing an explosion. Gibson pleaded not guilty, while Rain refused to answer the plea.
When Mark Fulton was found dead in Maghaberry Prison of an apparent suicide in June 2002, Jim Fulton succeeded his brother as the LVF's commander.
Gibson and Jim Fulton were indicted jointly but charged separately. Their trial, which took place at the Belfast Crown Court, lasted from September 2005 to December 2006, making it the longest in Northern Ireland's legal history. Gibson faced a total of 11 charges, including the murder of Lamph and conspiring to cause explosions in the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, all of which she denied. She claimed in her defence that she had lied to the undercover police officers in an effort to impress them. Her taped conversations with the undercover police officers in England were presented at court. Although Gibson was acquitted of Lamph's murder, she was convicted of destroying evidence, and impeding the arrest and prosecution of his killers. She was also convicted of LVF membership, withholding information about a shooting, and possession of firearms, detonators and pipe bombs. The pipe bombs were used at the 1998 Drumcree standoff
Drumcree conflict
The Drumcree conflict or Drumcree standoff is an ongoing dispute over a yearly parade in the town of Portadown, Northern Ireland. The dispute is between the Orange Order and local residents. The residents are currently represented by the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition ; before 1995 they were...
and the detonators were to be used in a proposed bombing campaign in the Republic of Ireland in 1997. She was sentenced by Mr. Justice Harte in January 2007 to eight years imprisonment. Her co-accused Jim Fulton received a life sentence for directing the pipe-bomb killing of Elizabeth O'Neill (a Protestant married to a Catholic) and a series of other offences, including seven attempted murders. Gibson, a grandmother, is incarcerated at the Ash House block of Hydebank Young Offenders Centre Centre in Belfast.