Silence and lying: the taboo around the Disappeared in Northern Ireland in Mary O'Donnell's novel Where They Lie

Abstract

In her fiction and poetry, Mary O’Donnell has often touched topics dealing with explicit taboo subjects, masturbation, anorexia, menopause, abortion or domestic violence.

In her 2014 novel, Where They Lie, O’Donnell tackles a different taboo, the neglected and disturbing topic of the Disappeared during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. These men and women were kidnapped, killed and buried somewhere in the country, mostly by Republican paramilitaries because believed to be informers. Reticence and lies surround the Disappeared in current discourse and O’Donnell’s novel aims at breaking down this taboo.

The purpose of this essay is to fathom the narrative strategies O’Donnell uses to face and to deal effectively and emotionally with the taboo of language surrounding the tragedy of one of the most touching and still unsolved issues in recent Irish History.

Keywords: Northern Ireland, the Troubles, the Disappeared, silence, grief