Aahana Swrup
In the FX show ‘Say Nothing,’ the narrative centers around the years leading up to, during, and after the Northern Ireland Conflict, explored through the perspectives of the Provincial IRA members. Consequently, dramatized versions of historical figures, such as Gerry Adams, Brendan Hughes, Dolours, and Marian Price, become the primary characters steering the central storylines unfolding in 20th-century Belfast. Of the many historical events the show covers—from the 1973 London bombings to the hunger strikes of the Price sisters during their imprisonment in London—the involvement of the IRA in the fate of “The Disappeared” retains significant narrative relevance.
Notably, this translates into a nuanced dive into the true story of Jean McConville, a civilian widowed mother who became one of The Disappeared. However, a different side of the phenomenon is presented through two other characters, Seamus Wright and Kevin “Beaky” McKee, Provisional IRA members and close comrades of Brendan Hughes. In real life, Seamus Wright and Kevin McKee disappeared around 1972, and the mystery of their deaths persisted for years to come.
Seamus Wright and Kevin McKee Faced Accusations of Being Undercover Agents For The British Army
Seamus Wright and Kevin McKee were both members of the Provincial Irish Republican Army and reportedly operated within Brendan Hughes’ “D-Company.” However, around 1972, the two also became informants for the British Authorities. Historical records confirm McKee’s trade of republican information to the British through Kings Own Scottish Borderers’ entry in the watchkeeper’s log. Similarly, letters—such as the Ministry of Defence minutes—recognize Wright as a “turned terrorist,” alluding to his actions as an informant.
At the time, it was reportedly quite common for the Provincial IRA to abduct, interrogate, kill, and bury suspected informers as a punishment for their perceived betrayal. A particular cell of the unit known as “The Unknowns” was responsible for these operations. A former IRA member, Pat McClure led this cell, with Dolours Price as another known collaborator. Consequently, Wright and McKee appeared on their radar once the IRA suspected that they were working for the British through a unit known as MRF.
Some reports suggest Hughes offered Wright and McKee immunity for revealing their involvement with MRF. Nonetheless, despite their alleged compliance, someone—not Hughes—passed the order for the execution. According to Hughes’ interview with the Boston College for the Belfast Project, neither knew of their predicaments as Dolours Price was driving the two men to their demises. After Price passed them off to another group across the border, their deaths were supposedly put off for a few weeks for unclear reasons. Nonetheless, an IRA leader reinstated the order of Wright and McKee’s termination, and the two men were killed. Seamus Wright was 25 years old at the time and had a wife, while Kevin McKee was freshly engaged at 17.
The Discovery of Seamus Wright and Kevin McKee’s Remains
After Seamus Wright and Kevin McKee vanished in October 1972, no one from their families knew their definitive fates for a long time. As a result, their families remained in the dark for a long time, and the Wrights continued a search for young Seamus that took them to the British authorities and even Parliament Members. Allegedly, Brendan Hughes broke the news to both Wright and McKee’s family. Ultimately, both men continued to be missing for long, with no leads about the location of their buried remains. In 1999, the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains was established and tasked with the responsibility of locating certain Irish and English individuals who went missing during The Troubles. Wright and McKee were two of the 16 missing people known as The Disappeared.
The same year, the IRA also admitted to the murder of multiple of The Disappeared, including Wright and McKee. Although the ICLVR conducted searches for both men, their remains weren’t found until June 2015, during the search for the remains of another individual, Joe Lynskey. Wright and McKee’s remains were found in a bog in Coghalstown, County Meath. The two had been buried in a single shallow grave. Pathologist Professor Marie Cassidy carried out the post-mortems on the remains, identified to belong to Wright and McKeen, and discovered that both men died from head wounds from a gunshot. In 2015, 43 long years after Seamus Wright and Kevin McKee’s deaths, their families put them to rest in their native Belfast areas. McKee was buried in Lisburn, County Antrim’s Blaris cemetery beside his mother. Likewise, a funeral took place for Wright in West Belfast.
Read More: Jean McConville: Was She a Real Informant? How Did She Die?
