Author of book on Jean McConville murder tells Dua Lipa s podcast about close scrape with exSF boss. Gerry Adams. An American writer and investigative journalist has said that he had a close scrape with Gerry Adams while gathering material for his book on the Troubles. Speaking about his nonfiction novel Say Nothing on pop star Dua Lipa s podcast Service95, Patrick Radden Keefe discussed his experiences with the former Sinn Fein leader and his views on the role of women in Northern Ireland during that time. The book examines the Troubles through the lens of the abduction and murder of motherof10 Jean McConville in Belfast in 1972. Describing Mr Adams as a paradoxical figure , Keefe recounted how he missed his chance to interview the republican in New York City. There are four central characters in the book Jean McConville, Dolours Price, Brendan Hughes and Gerry Adams. By the time I started writing, the first three were dead, so only Gerry was alive, and I did have a close scrape with him. Every year, his political party, Sinn Fein, host a fundraiser in New York City, and they have it in a huge ballroom at the Sheraton Hotel just outside Times Square. I attended as a journalist, sitting in the back with my notebook, and before he was going up to give his speech, I was just walking through a service corridor, and I looked down and I saw Gerry Adams by himself with his little notecards preparing for his speech. I thought to myself, Now is your moment, you got to go. This is it; you may not have another opportunity. I m in talks with his people, they might be unhappy if I went around them, and he is going to give a speech in a little bit, I don t want to accost him . So, I didn t. I gave him his space. A couple of days later they came back and said he wasn t going to talk to me. I never got the interview. . He added: I think he is quite a paradoxical figure Adams comes out in the in the right place politically in that he ends the conflict, but he is a very chilly guy. He is not someone that I find it easy to feel emotionally connected to. . Discussing feminism and its role in the lives of Irish women during the Troubles, the Londonborn interviewer said that the idea of equality held by two women central to the republican struggle was warped . The story is very remarkable in many ways. These characters, Dolours and Marian the Price sisters, were young, passionate, radical, but were also glamorous in a way that captured the imagination of the press at the time. They spent years in jail, ravaged their bodies through hunger strikes but they remained so unapologetically committed to the republican cause and I guess they would use violence to be able to achieve it. I wonder if there is anything that their story can tell us about the role of women in Northern Ireland at the time? . Dua Lipa added: It seems their idea of equality was quite warped in a sense, but now for example, there has been a massive shift in the past 50 years about women in the government in Ireland. They make up around 35 of it and I think it s all about women not having a place but now it s become prevalent, which is interesting to read about. . Join the Belfast Telegraph WhatsApp channel. Stay up to date with some of Northern Ireland's biggest stories. Daily Headlines Newsletter. Receive today's headlines directly to your inbox every morning and evening. Please check your inbox to verify your details
Author of book on Jean McConville murder recounts close encounter with Gerry Adams while researching Troubles book on Dua Lipa s podcast. Keefe shares his missed opportunity to interview Adams, describing him as a paradoxical figure. The book discusses feminism and the roles of Irish women during the Troubles, highlighting the radicalism and commitment of key female figures. Dua Lipa and Keefe discuss the evolution of women's roles in Irish government since that time.