Marian Price takes action over TV claims

Former republican prisoner Marian Price has begun legal action against Disney over their dramatised television series, ‘Say Nothing’.

Based on historical events from the conflict, the series depicts Ms Price as the person responsible for the death in 1972 of alleged informer Jean McConville.

Ms Price has denied playing any part in the execution of Jean McConville, a mother of ten, one of the most tragic events of the early years of the conflict. She has initiated legal proceedings as a result.

Peter Corrigan of Phoenix Law, acting for Ms Price, said it was “difficult to envisage a more egregious allegation”.

The Disney story line is linked to the Boston College criminal proceedings, in which the PSNI sought to prosecute senior republican figures over anonymous statements made as part of an oral history project.

Mr Corrigan said his client had been involved “at every level” of those proceedings. He said it was is clear that the allegation was “not based on a single iota of evidence”.

“Such allegations published on an international scale are not only unjustified, but they are odious insofar as they seek to cause our client immeasurable harm in exchange for greater streaming success.”

“Our client has now been forced to initiate legal proceedings to hold Disney to account for their actions.”

Both Marian and her sister Dolours Price were jailed for their role in an IRA campaign on British soil. Their physical and mental health were both damaged by their tortuous treatment at the hands of the English prison system, including being brutally assaulted and force-fed.

As a critic of the political direction in the north of Ireland, she was a frequent target of state harassment and media smears.

The Disney series is the latest in a number of fictionalised and dramatised representations of the conflict which has been increasingly exploited by the corporate media.

At the launch of the series in August, Disney described the IRA as a source of “radical violence” and described their production as “a gripping story of murder and memory in Northern Ireland during The Troubles”.

Urgent Appeal