Disney+ Say Nothing: Who was Jean McConville and what happened to her?

FX's Say Nothing official Disney trailer

New TV drama Say Nothing depicts The Troubles and the murder of Jean McConville - but who was she?

The show on Disney+ is an adaptation of Patrick Radden Keefe's New York Times bestseller and offers "a gripping story of murder and memory in Northern Ireland during the Troubles".

Say Nothing spans a four decades, beginning with Jean McConville's 1972 disappearance - a single mother of ten abducted from her Belfast home.

This widow was brutally murdered by the IRA, and it wasn't until 2003 that her remains were found after tireless searches.

The series covers the lives of Irish Republican Army (IRA) fighters, revealing the extreme measures some will take to stay true to their cause in a nation rife with conflict

But who was Jean McConville and why was she targeted by the IRA?

Jean McConville was abducted and murdered by the IRA (Image: ) Who was Jean McConville?

Jean McConville, born in east Belfast, became converted to Catholicism following her marriage to ex-British soldier Arthur McConville.

Fleeing community tensions in east Belfast in 1971, she relocated her family to Divis flats, situated on west Belfast's Lower Falls Road.

Her husband lost his battle with cancer in January 1972.

By November of that year, Jean was taken from a bingo hall, subjected to a savage beating by an IRA member who pegged her as an informer.

A month later, the IRA tore the 38-year-old away from her crying children, and she was seen no more.

Jean McConville was killed by IRA (Image: family handout)

Dolours Price drove the vehicle in which she was forcibly taken across the border, where she was shot dead in the back of her head and secretly buried.

McConville's body was discovered by walkers on Shelling Hill beach in Co Louth, Republic of Ireland, on August 27, 2003.

Why was Jean McConville murdered?

Jean McConville became one of the Disappeared - individuals who were kidnapped, killed and secretly buried by the IRA during the Troubles.

It has been suggested that she was abducted after neighbours saw her assisting an injured British soldier. The IRA alleged she was an informant, a claim vehemently denied by her family.

Jean McConville's family campaigned for answers about her death (Image: Getty) window.topArticlesScript="https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/js/dist/article-top-articles20241113.min.js" SUBSCRIBE Invalid email

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The Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman also dismissed this allegation following an official investigation.

Helen and her husband, Seamus McKendry, have long campaigned for the Provisional IRA to admit they murdered the widow and reveal the location of her remains.

Following the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, the IRA confessed in 1999 to the murder of nine of the Disappeared, including Jean McConville, and their secret burial.

In 2003, shortly after the discovery of Jean McConville's body, the IRA expressed regret that the families' suffering had persisted for so long.

However, Jean's family stated that the IRA's apology meant nothing and continued to campaign for the IRA to inform the families of other victims about their burial locations.

Disney+ Say Nothing: Who was Jean McConville and what happened to her?

Disney+ Say Nothing: Who was Jean McConville and what happened to her?

Disney+ Say Nothing: Who was Jean McConville and what happened to her?

Disney+ Say Nothing: Who was Jean McConville and what happened to her?

Disney+ Say Nothing: Who was Jean McConville and what happened to her?