'Say Nothing' courted a global audience. In Ireland, it sparked a heated debate

“Say Nothing” prima Lola Petticrew wasn’t amazed erstwhile their code accepting the Irish Film and Television Academy prize for play histrion successful February — encompassing termination rates, punishment of trans kids, paltry societal lodging and mediocre intelligence wellness services successful their hometown of Belfast — was greeted with vitriolic online comments. “S—” was the “best” of it, demonstrating that decades aft the horrific events the bid depicts, emotions inactive tally precocious crossed Ireland.

“As a young big who inactive lives there,” Petticrew wonders, via Zoom, “how we get implicit each this worldly and woody with the intergenerational trauma.”

It’s a “war” of sorts that persists successful Belfast — including successful the realm of civilization — decades aft the 1998 Good Friday Agreement heralded the closest happening yet to a ceasefire betwixt the U.K. and the Irish Republican Army. Widely acclaimed erstwhile it premiered successful the U.S. past fall, the FX series, adapted from Patrick Radden Keefe’s award-winning publication of the aforesaid name, has inspired an intense, analyzable absorption successful Ireland, wherever the taxable substance hits adjacent to the bone. “There’s admiration for it arsenic a portion of searing, unflinching storytelling but besides a level of unease,” explains Irish documentarian Pam Finn (“JFK: The Three Miles”). “Some consciousness it reopens wounds without adding caller understanding, portion others spot it arsenic an indispensable reckoning.”

In part, this hostility whitethorn stem from the concern, arsenic Finn puts it, that past “framed for planetary audiences” mightiness “flatten the nuances of lived experience” — a interest that Petticrew, who plays IRA subordinate Dolours Price, astatine archetypal shared.

“You spot [FX genitor company] Disney and go, ‘Why is Disney doing a Troubles piece?’ You’re benignant of acrophobic that it’s Americans coming successful and trying to necktie up the Troubles into a neat small bow and go, ‘We solved it!’ And that disquieted me,” the histrion says. Ultimately, though, they were stunned by penning that “encapsulated the tone truthful well” and judge American backing allowed “Say Nothing” to beryllium “ballsier.”

“Some of what Dolours does is not conscionable unlikable but horrific, and I deliberation the amusement does a truly beauteous thing” successful allowing it to “dance successful those grey areas and contiguous these characters not arsenic heroes oregon villains but the concern that they are in, the decisions that they marque and the affectional aftermath,” they add. “And past the assemblage tin marque up their mind. It’s not trying to bash thing but marque radical face themselves and what they deliberation and provoke those large questions of what it means to determination connected from a struggle and trauma similar that.” (As Finn notes, “The absorption connected women successful the series, peculiarly successful a past mostly shaped by antheral voices, adds an important magnitude to knowing the complexity of the Troubles.”)

By contrast, Seán Murray, Belfast-based writer-director of 2018 documentary “Unquiet Graves,” which explores the U.K. government’s alleged collusion with section supporters of British regularisation successful Northern Ireland successful 120 murders during the 1970s, argues that “Say Nothing’s’’ position is one-sided. “We are 25 years aft the Good Friday Agreement, but the warfare has ne'er ended. Now we are successful a wide accusation warfare and what ‘Say Nothing’ has done is amplify a number enactment [for a agreed Ireland] presumption of what happened during the conflict.”

Murray’s ailment is not with the prime of the accumulation — “On a method level, I thought it was precise good,” helium notes, praising the section actors successful particular. Rather, helium says, determination are “huge responsibilities, peculiarly erstwhile you’re dealing with the traumatized,” that are astatine cross-purposes with the conventions of communicative TV.

Like galore crossed Ireland, Murray regards the series’ repeated disclaimer — astir now-retired Sinn Féin person Gerry Adams denying helium has ever been an IRA member, contempt being depicted successful the bid arsenic a person of the enactment — with an arched brow. “I deliberation they were trying to troll him,” helium says.

Josh Finan arsenic young Gerry Adams successful “Say Nothing.”

(Rob Youngston / FX)

Glenn Patterson, a Belfast writer, novelist and filmmaker whose enactment is informed by the Troubles, agreed astir the words’ acheronian humor: “Gerry Adams has ever denied that helium has been a subordinate of the IRA. Nobody believes that, truthful to spot that caption drew smiles.”

Patterson is simply a akin property to immoderate of the children of Jean McConville, the Belfast widow and parent of 10 whose December 1972 abduction, disappearance and execution by the IRA, allegedly for being a “tout” (informer) — though the U.K. authorities has ever denied this — is astatine the bosom of “Say Nothing.” In 2014, Adams was arrested successful transportation with the execution of McConville, whose assemblage was yet discovered successful 2003, but helium was ne'er charged.

“I retrieve the fearfulness of it from the precise start,” Patterson says. “What that household suffered is truly, genuinely horrific and genuinely unconscionable. The lies that were told, the goading of the family, each of that is perfectly horrendous.”

The fiercest criticism, of the precise determination to travel the book’s template and operation the enactment astir what happened to McConville, has travel from immoderate of her children. “I person not watched it nor bash I mean watching it,” Michael McConville said successful a statement. His mother’s death, helium continued, “is not amusement for maine and my family. The portrayal of the execution and concealed burial of my parent is horrendous, and unless you person lived done it, you volition ne'er recognize conscionable however cruel it is.”

For each of the thorny governmental questions examined successful “Say Nothing” — arsenic good arsenic by the supporters and detractors who’ve emerged since it premiered — the intelligent, perceptive Petticrew remains clear-eyed astir the possibilities, and limitations, of their role.

“Our occupation arsenic actors is to amusement up and movie what’s successful the script. I conscionable went successful knowing that there’s the Dolours successful existent life, the Dolours successful Patrick’s publication and the Dolours successful our script, and I could lone play the Dolours successful our script. That felt similar the due headspace for maine to beryllium in.”

That groundedness has allowed Petticrew to support their ain accolades, including a information for a BAFTA TV Award, successful perspective. With immoderate assistance from a definite four-legged “North Star.”

“My canine Cúan gives maine truthful overmuch bid and serenity. Dogs dilatory your beingness down truthful much. I recovered retired that I got the BAFTA information and had to prime up the gnarliest canine s— ever. There’s thing that’s going to humble you similar your canine that doesn’t cognize and doesn’t attraction what the f— a BAFTA is.”