JEAN MCCONVILLE’S SON has described the portrayal of her death in a new drama series as “cruel”.
Mother-of-10 Jean McConville was one of the Disappeared who were killed and secretly buried by republican paramilitary groups during the Troubles.
Jean was taken from her home in west Belfast in December 1972 and her remains were found by a walker in August 2003 on Shelling Hill Beach in Co Louth.
The best-selling book ‘Say Nothing’ by author Patrick Radden Keefe focuses on the disappearance of Jean McConville and has been adapted into a nine-part TV series that was released 14 November.
The show is produced by FX and streaming on Disney+.
Jean’s last moments are part of the series, which also focuses on the life of now deceased republican Dolours Price.
In a statement released via the WAVE Trauma Centre, Jean’s son Michael McConville said he has “not watched it nor do I intend watching it”.
Michael said he has “no interest” in the series and remarked: “Disney is renowned for entertainment. My mother’s death is not ‘entertainment’ for me and my family.”
He said this has been his family’s “reality everyday for 52 years” and criticised the timing of the Disney+ series, as it was released close to the 1 December anniversary of Jean’s disappearance.
“Although we live with it every single day and it never goes away, the timing of this is particularly bad given that it is my mother’s anniversary on 1 December,” said Michael.
He added: “I just don’t think people realise how hurtful this is.
“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 also questioned the need for the series and said: “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.”
He added: “Eventually this series will be forgotten and the people who made it will have moved on to something else. They can do that, I can’t.”
No one has ever been prosecuted Jean McConville’s death, which left 10 children orphaned.
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