Son of Murder Victim Portrayed in ‘Say Nothing’ Criticizes “Horrendous” Series

The son of Jean McConville, whose abduction and murder by the Irish Republican Army is portrayed in the FX series Say Nothing, is criticizing the series for depicting his family’s tragedy, calling it “horrendous.”

Michael McConville, one of 10 children who were left orphaned when his mother was taken from their Belfast apartment in 1972, said in a statement reported on by The Guardian and BBC News NI that his mother’s death is “not entertainment for me and my family.” He continued, “The portrayal of the execution and secret burial of my mother is horrendous and unless you have lived through it, you will never understand just how cruel it is.”

Michael added that he has not viewed the series and does not intend to watch it.

Say Nothing, an FX adaptation of Patrick Radden Keefe’s award-winning nonfiction book of the same name, centers the disappearance and death of Jean as it tells an ambivalent story of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Jean is played by Judith Roddy in the series, which premiered in the U.S. on Hulu and in other English-speaking territories on Disney+ on Nov. 14.

Suspected of being an informant for the British Army by the republicans, Jean was secretly killed and buried by a trio of IRA volunteers in 1972. After a long search, her remains were eventually discovered on a beach in County Louth, in Ireland, in 2003. After initially denying responsibility for the murder, the IRA finally acknowledged its involvement in 1999. In 2006, the police ombudsman for Northern Ireland released results of an investigation that found no evidence Jean had been an informant for the British.

Michael added in his remarks, “Everyone knows the story of Jean McConville; even Hillary Clinton, who I met a few years ago, knew my mother’s story. And yet here is another telling of it that I and my family have to endure.”

The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to FX for comment.

This is the second time that Michael has spoken out about the series. In 2019, days after The Hollywood Reporter first reported that Radden Keefe’s book Say Nothing had been optioned to be turned into a limited series, Michael told the Belfast Telegraph that he and other family members were “upset and disgusted” by the plans. He added at the time, “To make money out of her murder and the pain that has been in our lives ever since is cruel and obscene.”

Asked about Michael’s 2019 remarks, author Radden Keefe — an executive producer on the FX series — told THR this month that at the time he had neglected to tell the family that a series announcement was imminent and “that was a mistake on my part.” Radden Keefe and Say Nothing executive producer Michael Lennox later met with family members of the “Disappeared” — 17 people who went missing and are believed to have been killed by republicans during the Troubles in Northern Ireland — including the members of the McConville family to discuss the series. The creatives worked with the Wave Trauma Centre in Northern Ireland to communicate with the families.

In a statement to THR in November, a spokesperson for the Wave Trauma Centre said the families appreciated the chance to speak with the creatives. Still, “The deep trauma that these families suffered has not diminished over the years and understandably anything that causes them to have to revisit these events is always going to be very difficult for them,” the spokesperson added.