I’ve just listened to a discussion on the B(ritish)BC’s Raidio Uladh about a new TV drama series called Say Nothing. It centres, apparently, on the killing of Jean McConville, and features Dolours and Marian Price. One of the people talking on Raidio Uladh spoke of the moral duty to make such a series, and that the killing of Jean McConville was ‘a war crime’.
I profoundly disagree with both points. William Crawley mused on what people who’d never heard of Jean McConville would make of the series. Whatever about abroad, there can’t be a person in Ireland who doesn’t know the name Jean McConville. The mother of ten children, she is used again and again to illustrate the barbarity of the IRA. Surprisingly enough, Malachi O’Doherty, one of the people on the programme, made the point that Jean McConville was accused of informing to the authorities on IRA activities and that there was a logic to the killing of informers. Logic or not, that’s what has always happened to informers or spies in a time of conflict. We see this again and again in various films and novels, and the death of informers or spies is rarely depicted sympathetically.
But the death of Jean McConville has been used again and again as an indication of the barbarity of the IRA. It is true that her death inflicted terrible damage on the family she left behind. But one thing we can be reasonably sure about: the IRA believed she was an informer. Otherwise the IRA would not have gone to the bother of abducting and killing her, and ‘disappearing’ her body. And yet this part of the story is rarely stressed – that the IRA believed her to be an informer and that was why they killed her, not because they were psychopaths who plucked people from the nationalist community and killed them for no reason.
The other aspect of the Raidio Uladh discussion that I found depressing was that, yet again, Jean McConville is talked about as though she were unique.
I’m not the first to draw this comparison, but was the death of Joan Connolly not sufficiently barbaric for a similar drama? Joan Connolly died at the hands of the Parachute regiment. She was shot as she left her place of safety and went to the aid of a young boy (Noel Phillips) who was shot and wounded by the same regiment. Joan was shot several times in the head and body, with injuries so severe that part of her face was blown off. Joan’s autopsy report indicates that Joan bled to death. Eye witnesses of the events claim Joan was blatantly refused emergency medical attention, even as she cried out for help. Her husband was unable to identify her at first, so grievous were her facial wounds. On the third attempt he identified her by the colour of her hair.
She was a victim of the British army, which we’re told was here to maintain law and order.
There are doubtless hundreds of women who died during the Troubles, but particular compassion for her and condemnation of her killers are reserved for Jean McConville.No one could deny that the death of this mother of ten was brutal. But while we hear of it again and again, we rarely hear of Joan Connolly, a mother of eight, who was brutally murdered by men paid by the taxpayer to maintain law and order.
If you can’t work out why we hear so frequently of Jean and so rarely of Joan, you are either saintly in your innocence or idiotic in your ignorance.
I have often wondered why the family of Jean Mc Conville, allowed their mother to be used cynically at election time, particulary in the south, election over, Jean & her 10 children forgotten until next time.
Well done Jude. Absolutely NO context to what was going on. I spoke to Ed Moloney about this some time ago. Keefe was a nobody from Boston who had no interest or inclination about being Irish or about the conflict but was “intrigued” when he read about the disappeared. At the time he was a Intern Assistant for Gen Gates who was then head of the CIA. Coincidence? I think not. The entire book relies on Moloney’s work . From what I have seen so far it is yet another propagands coup for those who think is every finished with such stunts.
Mike
Agreed, Mike. I don’t know how people don’t notice that the Boston tapes contributors all had one thing in common – they hated Gerry A’s guts. Hardly detached witnesses of history…
Very good jude free Palestine
Thank you, James…Ditto.
This is low by your standards Jude. “Just kill a mother of ten suspected of informing and hide her body, sure where’s the harm in that?”
The IRA was riddled with British double agents who would frame anyone to take the heat of themselves. Stakeknife anyone?
Meanwhile Michelle O’Neill lays a wreath to commemorate British soldiers. It’s a funny old world, ain’t it?
It should be called the British Bullshit Corporation, such a load of drivel. They never mentioned the Stornophone 2-way radio found in Jean McConville’s flat. Patrick Radden Keefe knew about this but deliberately left it out of his book because, he claims, he was told by an RUC Special Branch man that the British army were not using this type of hand-held radios in the early 70’s. There is clear photographic evidence available showing soldiers using these radios in 1971-72, they were also mentioned in the Saville Enquiry as being the type of radio used by the paras on Bloody Sunday. Mr Keefe was informed of this by a well known local journalist but ignored the information as it didn’t suit his ‘narrative’. You can get the rest of this story if you google “ Jean McConville the broken elbow” . with a link to further info, including PR Keefe’s links with the Pentagon. Say Nothing is a propaganda stunt, willingly helped along by the usual mouthpieces.
so much happened and as soon as Jean mconville comes up the self righteous are out in droves as you said jude the condemnation is selective as per
it was a terrible time and a terrible thing happened to Jean mc Colville. we don’t know what pressure she was under to be a paid informer for the govt.we also don’t know how many people were murdered on the word of Jean by the security forces. why don’t they make a film about the two brothers murdered because they were going out with Catholic girls
who were warned by the security forces not to speak about what they knew. it’s never been resolved.
Most know the sorry story of what happened Jean McConville, Mother murdered by IRA for (allegedly) being an informer. Very back & white.
Less know of Caroline Moreland, another Mother who suffered the same fate, for (allegedly) the same reasons.
The main difference in the stories of these poor souls is Caroline Moreland perished at the hands of a British Agent AKA Stakeknife, and therefore the British Government were complicit in her death.
Maybe that’s why we hear so little of that particular death.