Belfast

Belfast is the site of much of the events recounted by Patrick Radden Keefe in Say Nothing. The McConville family were living in Belfast when their mother was taken and 'disappeared' by the IRA. The city was -- and, in many ways, remains -- visibly and physically divided into ethnic neighborhoods to prevent Catholics and Protestants from clashing. However, during the Troubles, paramilitary raids into certain neighborhoods led to retaliatory violence which, when combined with the inclusion of the British forces in Ireland and their activities, caused pure chaos in Belfast. The city became the site of sectarian warfare as well as the site of an independence movement which ultimately resulted in a ceasefire agreement on Good Friday in 1998.

Derry

Derry, also known as 'Londonderry,' is an important location in Say Nothing, though not many of the recounted events take place there. The period known as...