Review: ‘Say Nothing’ says a lot about the truth and tragedy of ‘The Troubles’

The brand-new FX mini-series ‘Say Nothing’ might go down as the most controversial film or TV production to address Irish history. 

This nine-part series produced by Clare Barron is based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Patrick Radden Keefe and depicts the truth and tragedy of ‘The Troubles’ between 1968 and 1998 in Northern Ireland. 

The series is centred around the disappearance of Jean McConville, the role of two sisters Dolores and Marian Price, and the story of Gerry Adams. 

The drama “based on a true story” conveys what life looked like politically and personally in Belfast during The Troubles. From Catholics fearing for their lives, the British army’s control, and the actions of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). 

The series begins in Divis Flats, Belfast in 1972, as mother of 10 Jean McConville is kidnapped by members of the IRA in front of her children. 

This scene is intense, a nail-biting sequence of terror and fear. The screaming, crying and the fear of the unknown in the faces of the children is chilling as they see their mother taken away. 

McConville was one of many of the labelled ‘disappeared’ who were kidnapped by the IRA, never to be seen again. 

The quick shift from this harrowing scene to a kitchen table in Dublin, 29 years later is completely unexpected as we are introduced to Dolores Price (the middle-aged version played by Maxine Peake) as she sits down in-front of an audio recorder in her contribution to the Belfast Project to tell her story of ‘The Troubles. 

She describes her upbringing in a staunch republican family, and their fight against British rule. There is a breathtaking portrayal of the systematic teachings the sisters received from their father, an ex-IRA member, on how to defend themselves, make bombs and simply survive. 

Many women’s role in the North during ‘The Troubles’ was nurturing and feeding the men, but the Price sisters had a different mindset. 

The show depicts the sisters’ turn from peaceful civil-rights activists to rebels after marchers were attacked by loyalists during the Belfast to Derry protest in January 1969. 

Dolores is the more confident and independent type compared to her sister Marian who is quiet and innocent. Their younger versions are played exceptionally by actors Petticrew and Doupe as they both become members of the IRA, from being friends with its leader Gerry Adams. 

After every episode, there is a disclaimer stating, “Gerry Adams has always denied being a member of the IRA or participating in any IRA-related violence.” 

The series creator, Josh Zetumer, clearly doesn’t take that denial seriously.

Under Adams’ leadership, the sisters go from making cups of tea and coffee to staging bank robberies, participating in riots, and planting bombs as they become senior members of the IRA. 

The sisters are most known for their role in the 1973 Old Bailey bombing, a car bomb attack outside the Old Bailey courthouse in London that left over 200 injured and one dead. 

The series’ portrayal of the bombing is spine-chilling, as it shows step by step how the attack was carried out and how the sisters along with other young IRA members carried out the IRA’s first attack overseas. 

The two were arrested and served 20 years – with beatings, hunger strikes and near-death experiences in prison, all depicted in the series. 

Over the course of the nine episodes, ‘Say Nothing’ shows the terror caused by British soldiers in Northern Ireland over a 20-year period, but also the lies and questionable actions of the IRA.

Young Gerry Adams, played by Josh Finan, is portrayed as a leader who might not be seen as an intimidating figure based on his nerdy looks; however, you could say this helped him get away with his actions. 

Later when we see the older political version of Adams, actor Michael Colgan seems uncannily identical to Adams himself. 

Adams is depicted as responsible for organising attacks on the British army and for the kidnappings and murders of ‘The disappeared’ such as Jean McConville. 

‘Say Nothing’ also depicts Adams’s stubborn denial that he was in the IRA or has any involvement with the group. The decision to put Adams in this spotlight is brave, but it could be determined as defamation without the real evidence. 

As the series goes on, it continues to shift from past to present, and it presents the evidence about Adams in the form of the recorded interviews with Dolores Price and her IRA comrade Brendan Hughes – interviews that were to be released on their deaths. 

The series gets a 4/5-star rating from me, as I believe it is a great spectacle with great historical learning and content. However, it is missing getting 5 stars as it is not always easy to untangle fiction from fact. 

★★★★

The series is available to watch for a limited time on streaming apps such as Disney + and FX.