Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland

Both republicans and loyalists formed paramilitaries, armed combat entities structured and trained similar to an army, during the Troubles. While these organizations had internal promotion and disciplinary proceedings, formal leadership, and engaged in diplomatic efforts, they remained independent from the official armed forces recognized in Northern Ireland and England. Membership was, and remains, illegal. 

There have been many iterations of the Irish Republican Army throughout modern Irish history. The name always describes republican paramilitary organizations that believe in a united Ireland free from British influence. The two main Troubles-era IRA divisions were the Provisional IRA and the Official IRA. They not only differed in tactics but were sometimes violent rivals. After the Troubles, additional IRA organizations formed to continue the violent struggle after the Provisional IRA and Official IRA committed to a ceasefire. Keefe specifically mentions the “Real IRA” in this vein.

Often called the “Provos,” the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) was the most influential republican paramilitary of the Troubles, and the main focus of Keefe’s analysis of historical figures. The Provos were responsible for the disappearance and death of Jean McConville, around whom the book revolves. 

The Unknowns were a special unit of the Provos under direct order from Gerry Adams. They undertook particularly important and dangerous missions, such as transporting people across the border for court marshals and executions and the London bombings. The Price sisters were both members.

Also called the “RUC,” the Royal Ulster Constabulary was the Troubles-era state police force in Northern Ireland (“Ulster” refers to the old Irish province that includes all the counties partitioned to Northern Ireland in 1921). The RUC intervened in the Troubles conflict under the guise of keeping peace but routinely pursued republican revolutionaries, while turning a blind eye to loyalist paramilitary violence. After the Troubles, Northern Ireland restructured and branded the RUC to create the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). Legal prosecutors similarly accused the PSI of anti-republican bias in post-Troubles court cases. 

Long Kesh is the name of the main prison discussed in the book. Adams and Hughes were both interned there. Hughes temporarily escaped but returned to share a cell with Adams. It was the site of Adams’s political transformation and the famous, deadly hunger strikes led by Bobby Sands.

Sinn Féin is a left-wing Irish and Northern Irish political party with close historical ties to the Provisional IRA. When IRA strategists decided to pursue political change alongside armed resistance, they did so within Sinn Féin. The party gained popularity in Northern Ireland in the 1980s. Its leader Gerry Adams helped negotiate the Good Friday Agreement that ended the Troubles.