Joe Gaston
Joe Gaston (1926 or 1927 – 15 March 2018[1]) was a Unionist politician in Northern Ireland.
Gaston worked as a farmer and served part-time in the Ulster Defence Regiment.[2] In 1973, he was elected to Ballymoney Borough Council as a non-party candidate. He was re-elected in 1977, for the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP).[3]
In December 1977, Gaston's right leg was removed by a bomb planted in his tractor by the Provisional Irish Republican Army.[2][4]
Gaston was elected at the 1982 Northern Ireland Assembly election in North Antrim.[5] In 1985, he served as Deputy Mayor of Ballymoney, then as Mayor from 1986–87 and 1990–1993.
At the 1992 general election, Gaston contested Ian Paisley's North Antrim seat, taking second place with 18.1% of the votes cast.[6] In 1996, he was elected to the Northern Ireland Forum, again in North Antrim,[7] and served his final term as Mayor of Ballymoney.
Gaston lost his council seat to Sinn Féin's Daithi McKay in 2005.[8]
References[]
- ^ "Joe Gaston, UUP man who survived IRA bomb, '˜one of great stalwarts'". News Letter. 15 March 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
- ^ a b Suzanne Breen, "The forgotten victims of the Troubles", Sunday Tribune, May 2006 Archived 4 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ The Local Government Elections 1973–1981: Ballymoney, Northern Ireland Elections
- ^ Belfast Today
- ^ North Antrim 1973–1982, Northern Ireland Elections
- ^ North Antrim, 1983–1992, Northern Ireland Elections
- ^ North Antrim, Northern Ireland Elections
- ^ Ballymoney Borough Council Elections 1993–2005, Northern Ireland Elections
- 1920s births
- 2018 deaths
- Mayors of places in Northern Ireland
- Members of Ballymoney Borough Council
- Members of the Northern Ireland Forum
- Northern Ireland MPAs 1982–1986
- Farmers from Northern Ireland
- Ulster Unionist Party councillors
- Ulster Defence Regiment soldiers
- British amputees