By William Mueller
Dolours Price was a member of the IRA and a leader of the Irish republican cause in the 1970s. Price was one of the interviewees from the Belfast Project, and her involvement in the disappearances of many people, including Jean McConville, was discussed. Price agreed to be interviewed as long as “the interviews would be kept locked away” (Keefe 301) and the agreement was that the interview could only be released after her death. Apart from the Belfast Project, Price was also interviewed by Ed Moloney. Moloney agreed not to release the interview until after her death, similarly to the Belfast Project. When asked about the disappearance of McConville, Price said that she was involved by driving her across the border. The IRA suspected that McConville was an informant for the British, and the IRA was keen on sending a message that “touts” are not tolerated. Price said that she didn’t think death was warranted for her knowing that McConville was a mother. Price, another volunteer, and Wee Pat McClure all used one gun and took turns to see who killed her. This method was used because it helped the murderers with the anxiety and guilt that comes from killing someone who many thought was innocent. Price said that she intentionally missed the shot because she felt uneasy about killing McConville. Price’s information certainly served as a major revelation in the kidnapping and murder of Jean McConville, however it did not provide the identity of the I.R.A. volunteer that fired the fatal shot. While the murder is still classified as an open case and Dolours Price was never arrested or charged with assisting the murder, there is a hunch that it could have been Dolours’s sister, Marian Price. Marian was the third member of the Unknowns that was present at the murder of Jean McConville. Ultimately, Dolours Price places the lion’s share of the blame on Gerry Adams and asserts that Adams was the commanding officer that ordered the abduction and murder. Since Price announced Adams as her commanding officer, Adams was arrested by the PSNI shortly after for his involvement in the McConville murder. In a conversation with journalist Liam Clarke, Price spoke negatively about Gerry Adams. She said: “The man is an ignoramus and his ego has affected his head. He has lost all sense of proportion in his greed for attention.” Adams responded by saying that Price is unwell, which is true. Price has dealt PTSD, stress, anxiety, and depression which took a serious toll on her mental health in her later years (McKittrick, 2013). Despite these mental conditions, she speaks very intently against Adams so it is uncertain how much truth there is to her words.
The PSNI wanted to get their hands on the tapes immediately after Dolores Price’s death, but the interviewees disagreed. Ed Moloney, the person who interviewed Price, confirmed that her tape wouldn’t be released directly after her death. Differently from Dolores Price, Brendan Hughes requested that his tapes be released shortly after his death. The time that the tapes are released play a large role in the peace process in Northern Ireland because the PSNI will open up investigations based on some of the tapes.
References:
McKittrick , David. “Dolours Price: IRA Terrorist Who Later Attacked Sinn Fein and Its.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 25 Jan. 2013, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/dolours-price-ira-terrorist-who-later-attacked-sinn-fein-and-its-president-gerry-adams-8467939.html.
Keefe, Patrick Radden. Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland. Doubleday, 2019, pp. 223-348.
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