Lola Petticrew as Dolours in a nun outfit holding out a gun with her right hand in Say Nothing. Image via FX By Liam Gaughan Published Jul 31, 2026, 11:59 PM EDT Liam Gaughan is a film and TV writer at Collider. He has been writing film reviews and news coverage for ten years. Between relentlessly adding new titles to his watchlist and attending as many screenings as he can, Liam is always watching new movies and television shows. In addition to reviewing, writing, and commentating on both new and old releases, Liam has interviewed talent such as Mark Wahlberg, Jesse Plemons, Sam Mendes, Billy Eichner, Dylan O'Brien, Luke Wilson, and B.J. Novak. Liam aims to get his spec scripts produced and currently writes short films and stage plays. He lives in Allentown, PA. Sign in to your Collider account Add Us Summary Generate a summary of this story Like Like follow Follow followed Followed Listen Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap The Troubles is among the most significant conflicts in 20th-century European history, but it has been notoriously difficult to turn into compelling dramatic material. While there are plenty of films, particularly in the ‘90s, that used the Irish Republican Army as a plot device or contained them to an inciting incident, studios have been hesitant to take a side in what remains a very controversial era in modern history, and one that still has repercussions today. Say Nothing is a nuanced crime thriller that explores the entire history of the Troubles , using point-of-view characters to offer a personal slant. Although it is by no means an easy series to watch, Say Nothing is also quite affirming, as it acknowledges the human lives that were lost, erased, and profoundly harmed as a result of the violence.
Say Nothing is based on the nonfiction book of the same name by Patrick Radden Keefe , a brilliant writer who has authored several historical texts that have inspired dramatic interpretations. Say Nothing drew inspiration from The Belfast Project, a historical research initiative that interviewed many survivors and participants of the conflict. The Troubles may often be associated with the 1970s, but Say Nothing spans into the ‘80s and ‘90s, using a dual narrative format to explore the lives of characters as they later recount their history. In many ways, Say Nothing is an inverted coming-of-age story; although many of the young IRA members joined at a time before they had matured, they made decisions that would have significant ramifications on both their lives and others.
Say Nothing benefits from some of the best performances in recent television history, as the series centers its emotional drama on the relationship between two sisters, Dolours and Marian Price . The Price sisters joined the IRA in 1971 and were involved in several key resistance activities, including the 1973 Old Bailey bombing and the hunger strikes by detained paramilitary members that followed; Dolours is played by both Lola Petticrew and Maxine Peak , and Marian is portrayed by both Hazel Doupe and Helen Behan . The interweaving structure is instructive because it shows the regrets felt by the Price sisters later on in life alongside the enthusiasm and desperation of their youth. It offers a more mature consideration of their actions and how they were coerced; instead of painting the Prices as restless agitators, Sa…