Say Nothing
In the early part of this year, before the lockdown, I attended a talk by Chris Patten in Dublin. After his talk he was asked about an issue that was current at the time, formation of government, and what advise would he give about working with parties who had a paramilitary past. As part of his answer he said that there does come a time to move on, to forgive. But, he said, before you can do that you must know what exactly you are moving on from, what exactly you are forgiving. Then he went on to strong recommend we read a book; Say Nothing, by Patrick Radden Keefe, a writer with the New Yorker.
So I duly went and got the book and read it. Having done so, I would join with Chris Patten in recommending it to anyone who want to get a better understanding of those years of the ‘Troubles” in the North. Having lived through it all, albeit from a distance, I have read a great deal about those times, but nothing that would come near Say Nothing for insight, clarity and the type of inside information that shed light on what was really going on.
It features especially the abduction of Jean McConville, the story of the Price sisters, Dolours and Marian, Brendan Hughes, the Boston tapes, the hunger strike, and much more. And through it all, the enigmatic figure of Gerry Adams; we get a lot of versions of him from the various different characters in the book.
I have no doubt that not everyone who was involved in those years would agree with what Radden Keefe has written. But for me is was an eye-opener of a book, informative and beautifully written. A great companion for the days of cocooning.
