QR Film Review: I, Dolours
I,Dolours is the first-hand telling of the life of Dolours Price, an IRA volunteer, whose membership in the organisation would define almost every aspect of her life up until her death. Directed by Maurice Sweeny, this film uses documentary tools at its disposal to tell the powerful and disturbing tale of Dolours Price through a collection of archive footage, re-enactments and first hand interviews from Price’s controversial Boston Tapes interviews with journalist Ed Moloney.
The film first explores her early life, her family’s strong Republican ties and socialist views which spawned from the Civil Rights movement. Dolours explains that after the violence at Burntollet during a civil rights march she learned that “Change would not be brought about by marching” and how she felt anger when the "old" IRA men would not fight against an oppressive British and Unionist state. Sweeny uses archive footage here, along with chilling music, to give a sense of fear and urgency at the time when Price obviously felt more decisive action needed to be taken. The use of a recording of children singing “If you hate the British Army clap your hands," offers as a chilling reminder that the conflict affected every facet of society, and perhaps most deeply; the children. When Dolours explains that she wasn’t told bedtime stories of Goldilocks and the Three Bears but instead tales of old Ireland and fighting the “Brits”, it is very easy to see how she was drawn to the romantic idea of fighting for her country. A mentality that appears to follow her for her entire life. The juxtaposition of the young, idealistic Dolours portrayed excellently by Lorna Larkin against the jaded, elder Dolours in the interviews demonstrates a woman who has been transformed, but in many ways remained the same in the face of seismically shifting political landscapes. Larkin’s performance is fantastic and while she does not nail the accent or idiosyncrasies of Dolours Price, she captures her spirit and this is what is most imperative to the film; understanding Dolours as a person. This is her story not the story of the larger conflict.
The documentary goes on to explain how she followed orders with precision and gusto, which really gives a sense of the dedication that she had to the IRA at the time. Her commitment never wavered and she explains how when asked to take on a role in the “Unknowns”, the group that dealt with The Disappeared, she was surprised that so many withdrew. Her diligence, determination and ultimate commitment to the cause was stressed in her idea that informers should not be buried, but left on the street for all to see and act as a warning to what will happen to the people that she considered “...less than human”.
Although the film explained life from her perspective well, it did not reveal anything that an observer of history did not already know, or at least guess. She talks about Gerry Adams and her operation with Jean McConville, one of the few reveals being that she allegedly took part in her murder. This, although unsettling, was not surprising due to her relentless commitment to the IRA and her ability to obey direct orders.
Perhaps one of the most disturbing sections of the film are the re-enactments of her being force fed after going on hunger strike when arrested for planting bombs in England. Her reserve shines through, commenting that “to take food is failure, defeat and is wrong.” Although the film evokes some feelings of sympathy for the treatment both her and her sister faced while imprisoned, you will also feel conflicted due to the context of her crimes.
The romantic image envisioned in her younger days of what prison would be like seem to have decayed, much like herself, and in the end are nothing more than an illusion. This is made all the more evident when she speaking driving her friend, Joe Lynskey, over the border to be shot. This theme of loyalty echoes throughout the film and by the end we are given the impression that she was betrayed and ultimately forgotten about by those whom she would have once called “comrades”. Her absence from endorsing the Good Friday Agreement illustrates this.
Perhaps that is the saddest part of I, Dolours, is that she died feeling let down, deceived and unfulfilled, having not achieved her ultimate goal in life. Though, she does serve to be a forgotten relic of a time which indeed many would never wish to see the likes of again. Ultimately, Dolours is an unreliable narrator and we must remember that this is one woman’s perspective, and that everything she says must be taken with a pinch of salt.
By Sean Hughes & Jack Donnelly