Chairperson: Susan McKay

It is estimated that at least 15 people were ‘disappeared’ by the IRA during the Troubles. Some remains, like those of Jean McConville, have been found. Others are still missing. Recent years have seen an upsurge in books, films and artworks about ‘the disappeared’. But how can artists begin to approach such powerful and traumatic material? Is there a place for invention, or should writers restrict themselves to the facts? Chaired by Susan McKay, Where They Lie brings together a writer, a photographer and a director to explore the ways in which artists have responded to these events. David Farrell is a lecturer in photography at IADT-Dun Laoghaire. In 2001 his book Innocent Landscapes, examining the sites where bodies were found, won the European Publishers Award for Photography Festival. Alison Millar is a producer and director whose documentary ‘The Disappeared’ was broadcast on RTÉ and BBC last year. Poet and novelist Mary O’Donnell’s books include the bestselling The Light-Makers, Virgin and the Boy and The Elysium Testament. Her new novel, Where They Lie, faces the legacy of the disappeared head on, exploring how families cope with tragedy and how history, when ignored, can poison everything: love, family and society. Presented in association with the National Library of Ireland.