Latest news with #Petticrew
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Say Nothing' courted a global audience. In Ireland, it sparked a heated debate
'Say Nothing' star Lola Petticrew wasn't surprised when their speech accepting the Irish Film and Television Academy prize for drama actress in February — encompassing suicide rates, punishment of trans kids, paltry social housing and poor mental health services in their hometown of Belfast — was greeted with vitriolic online comments. 'S—' was the 'best' of it, demonstrating that decades after the horrific events the series depicts, emotions still run high across Ireland. 'As a young adult who still lives there,' Petticrew wonders, via Zoom, 'how we get over all this stuff and deal with the intergenerational trauma.' It's a 'war' of sorts that persists in Belfast — including in the realm of culture — decades after the 1998 Good Friday Agreement heralded the closest thing yet to a ceasefire between the U.K. and the Irish Republican Army. Widely acclaimed when it premiered in the U.S. last fall, the FX series, adapted from Patrick Radden Keefe's award-winning book of the same name, has inspired an intense, complicated reaction in Ireland, where the subject matter hits close to the bone. 'There's admiration for it as a piece of searing, unflinching storytelling but also a level of unease,' explains Irish documentarian Pam Finn ('JFK: The Three Miles'). 'Some feel it reopens wounds without adding new understanding, while others see it as an essential reckoning.' In part, this tension may stem from the concern, as Finn puts it, that history 'framed for international audiences' might 'flatten the nuances of lived experience' — a concern that Petticrew, who plays IRA member Dolours Price, at first shared. 'You see [FX parent company] Disney and go, 'Why is Disney doing a Troubles piece?' You're kind of afraid that it's Americans coming in and trying to tie up the Troubles into a neat little bow and go, 'We solved it!' And that worried me,' the actor says. Ultimately, though, they were stunned by writing that 'encapsulated the spirit so well' and believe American funding allowed 'Say Nothing' to be 'ballsier.' 'Some of what Dolours does is not just unlikable but horrific, and I think the show does a really beautiful thing' in allowing it to 'dance in those gray areas and present these characters not as heroes or villains but the situation that they are in, the decisions that they make and the emotional aftermath,' they add. 'And then the audience can make up their mind. It's not trying to do anything but make people confront themselves and what they think and provoke those big questions of what it means to move on from a conflict and trauma like that.' (As Finn notes, 'The focus on women in the series, particularly in a history largely shaped by male voices, adds an important dimension to understanding the complexity of the Troubles.') By contrast, Seán Murray, Belfast-based writer-director of 2018 documentary 'Unquiet Graves,' which explores the U.K. government's alleged collusion with local supporters of British rule in Northern Ireland in 120 murders during the 1970s, argues that 'Say Nothing's'' perspective is one-sided. 'We are 25 years after the Good Friday Agreement, but the war has never ended. Now we are in a mass information war and what 'Say Nothing' has done is amplify a minority republican [for a united Ireland] view of what happened during the conflict.' Murray's complaint is not with the quality of the production — 'On a technical level, I thought it was very good,' he notes, praising the local actors in particular. Rather, he says, there are 'huge responsibilities, particularly when you're dealing with the traumatized,' that are at cross-purposes with the conventions of narrative TV. Like many across Ireland, Murray regards the series' repeated disclaimer — about now-retired Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams denying he has ever been an IRA member, despite being depicted in the series as a leader of the organization — with an arched brow. 'I think they were trying to troll him,' he says. Glenn Patterson, a Belfast writer, novelist and filmmaker whose work is informed by the Troubles, agreed about the words' dark humor: 'Gerry Adams has always denied that he has been a member of the IRA. Nobody believes that, so to see that caption drew smiles.' Patterson is a similar age to some of the children of Jean McConville, the Belfast widow and mother of 10 whose December 1972 abduction, disappearance and murder by the IRA, allegedly for being a "tout" (informer) — though the U.K. government has always denied this — is at the heart of 'Say Nothing.' In 2014, Adams was arrested in connection with the murder of McConville, whose body was finally discovered in 2003, but he was never charged. 'I remember the horror of it from the very start,' Patterson says. 'What that family suffered is truly, truly horrific and truly unconscionable. The lies that were told, the goading of the family, all of that is absolutely horrendous.' The fiercest criticism, of the very decision to follow the book's template and structure the action around what happened to McConville, has come from some of her children. 'I have not watched it nor do I intend watching it,' Michael McConville said in a statement. His mother's death, he continued, "is not entertainment for me and my family. The portrayal of the execution and secret burial of my mother is horrendous, and unless you have lived through it, you will never understand just how cruel it is.' For all of the thorny political questions examined in 'Say Nothing' — as well as by the supporters and detractors who've emerged since it premiered — the intelligent, perceptive Petticrew remains clear-eyed about the possibilities, and limitations, of their role. 'Our job as actors is to show up and film what's in the script. I just went in understanding that there's the Dolours in real life, the Dolours in Patrick's book and the Dolours in our script, and I could only play the Dolours in our script. That felt like the appropriate headspace for me to be in.' That groundedness has allowed Petticrew to keep their own accolades, including a nomination for a BAFTA TV Award, in perspective. With some help from a certain four-legged 'North Star.' 'My dog Cúan gives me so much peace and serenity. Dogs slow your life down so much. I found out that I got the BAFTA nomination and had to pick up the gnarliest dog s— ever. There's nothing that's going to humble you like your dog that doesn't know and doesn't care what the f— a BAFTA is.' Get exclusive awards season news, in-depth interviews and columnist Glenn Whipp's must-read analysis straight to your inbox. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
‘Say Nothing' courted a global audience. In Ireland, it sparked a heated debate
'Say Nothing' star Lola Petticrew wasn't surprised when their speech accepting the Irish Film and Television Academy prize for drama actress in February — encompassing suicide rates, punishment of trans kids, paltry social housing and poor mental health services in their hometown of Belfast — was greeted with vitriolic online comments. 'S—' was the 'best' of it, demonstrating that decades after the horrific events the series depicts, emotions still run high across Ireland. 'As a young adult who still lives there,' Petticrew wonders, via Zoom, 'how we get over all this stuff and deal with the intergenerational trauma.' It's a 'war' of sorts that persists in Belfast — including in the realm of culture — decades after the 1998 Good Friday Agreement heralded the closest thing yet to a ceasefire between the U.K. and the Irish Republican Army. Widely acclaimed when it premiered in the U.S. last fall, the FX series, adapted from Patrick Radden Keefe's award-winning book of the same name, has inspired an intense, complicated reaction in Ireland, where the subject matter hits close to the bone. 'There's admiration for it as a piece of searing, unflinching storytelling but also a level of unease,' explains Irish documentarian Pam Finn ('JFK: The Three Miles'). 'Some feel it reopens wounds without adding new understanding, while others see it as an essential reckoning.' In part, this tension may stem from the concern, as Finn puts it, that history 'framed for international audiences' might 'flatten the nuances of lived experience' — a concern that Petticrew, who plays IRA member Dolours Price, at first shared. 'You see [FX parent company] Disney and go, 'Why is Disney doing a Troubles piece?' You're kind of afraid that it's Americans coming in and trying to tie up the Troubles into a neat little bow and go, 'We solved it!' And that worried me,' the actor says. Ultimately, though, they were stunned by writing that 'encapsulated the spirit so well' and believe American funding allowed 'Say Nothing' to be 'ballsier.' 'Some of what Dolours does is not just unlikable but horrific, and I think the show does a really beautiful thing' in allowing it to 'dance in those gray areas and present these characters not as heroes or villains but the situation that they are in, the decisions that they make and the emotional aftermath,' they add. 'And then the audience can make up their mind. It's not trying to do anything but make people confront themselves and what they think and provoke those big questions of what it means to move on from a conflict and trauma like that.' (As Finn notes, 'The focus on women in the series, particularly in a history largely shaped by male voices, adds an important dimension to understanding the complexity of the Troubles.') By contrast, Seán Murray, Belfast-based writer-director of 2018 documentary 'Unquiet Graves,' which explores the U.K. government's alleged collusion with local supporters of British rule in Northern Ireland in 120 murders during the 1970s, argues that 'Say Nothing's'' perspective is one-sided. 'We are 25 years after the Good Friday Agreement, but the war has never ended. Now we are in a mass information war and what 'Say Nothing' has done is amplify a minority republican [for a united Ireland] view of what happened during the conflict.' Murray's complaint is not with the quality of the production — 'On a technical level, I thought it was very good,' he notes, praising the local actors in particular. Rather, he says, there are 'huge responsibilities, particularly when you're dealing with the traumatized,' that are at cross-purposes with the conventions of narrative TV. Like many across Ireland, Murray regards the series' repeated disclaimer — about now-retired Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams denying he has ever been an IRA member, despite being depicted in the series as a leader of the organization — with an arched brow. 'I think they were trying to troll him,' he says. Glenn Patterson, a Belfast writer, novelist and filmmaker whose work is informed by the Troubles, agreed about the words' dark humor: 'Gerry Adams has always denied that he has been a member of the IRA. Nobody believes that, so to see that caption drew smiles.' Patterson is a similar age to some of the children of Jean McConville, the Belfast widow and mother of 10 whose December 1972 abduction, disappearance and murder by the IRA, allegedly for being a 'tout' (informer) — though the U.K. government has always denied this — is at the heart of 'Say Nothing.' In 2014, Adams was arrested in connection with the murder of McConville, whose body was finally discovered in 2003, but he was never charged. 'I remember the horror of it from the very start,' Patterson says. 'What that family suffered is truly, truly horrific and truly unconscionable. The lies that were told, the goading of the family, all of that is absolutely horrendous.' The fiercest criticism, of the very decision to follow the book's template and structure the action around what happened to McConville, has come from some of her children. 'I have not watched it nor do I intend watching it,' Michael McConville said in a statement. His mother's death, he continued, 'is not entertainment for me and my family. The portrayal of the execution and secret burial of my mother is horrendous, and unless you have lived through it, you will never understand just how cruel it is.' For all of the thorny political questions examined in 'Say Nothing' — as well as by the supporters and detractors who've emerged since it premiered — the intelligent, perceptive Petticrew remains clear-eyed about the possibilities, and limitations, of their role. 'Our job as actors is to show up and film what's in the script. I just went in understanding that there's the Dolours in real life, the Dolours in Patrick's book and the Dolours in our script, and I could only play the Dolours in our script. That felt like the appropriate headspace for me to be in.' That groundedness has allowed Petticrew to keep their own accolades, including a nomination for a BAFTA TV Award, in perspective. With some help from a certain four-legged 'North Star.' 'My dog Cúan gives me so much peace and serenity. Dogs slow your life down so much. I found out that I got the BAFTA nomination and had to pick up the gnarliest dog s— ever. There's nothing that's going to humble you like your dog that doesn't know and doesn't care what the f— a BAFTA is.'
Scottish Sun
26-04-2025
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Ferguson ferries boss paid £8k expenses for trips home to Canada
Holyrood MSPs have had their say on the latest revelation Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THE ex-boss of scandal-hit Ferguson Marine claimed over £8,000 in expenses to fly home to Canada, we can reveal. John Petticrew — who made £202,841 a year — was allowed the three round trips in a year as part of a separate £26,000 taxpayer-funded deal. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Ferguson ferries boss was paid £8,000 in expenses for trips home to Canada Credit: Alamy He resigned as interim chief executive of the nationalised shipyard in Port Glasgow last month citing 'personal reasons', with one of two late, over-budget ferries due in 2018 still not delivered to Caledonian MacBrayne. Lib Dem MSP Willie Rennie said last night: 'It's a feature of the SNP-owned yard that bosses are paid eye-watering salaries as they enter then leave quickly through the revolving door.' Scottish Tory energy spokesman Douglas Lumsden weighed in: 'The SNP's botched nationalisation has left the yard unable to compete for contracts. 'It's such a mess, they had to fly in a CEO from Canada to take on the poisoned chalice. 'This is failure on an industrial scale.' Labour economy spokesman Daniel Johnson added: 'It's hard to see what is being delivered in return.' Ferries Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa are thought to be costing four-times their original £97million price tag. Mr Petticrew's trips home cost £8,252. THE SCOTTISH SUN SAYS... THE Scottish Government's farcical ferries project has long been branded an exorbitant job creation scheme. In fact, Nicola Sturgeon and John Swinney tried to wear this as a badge of honour, making out that it didn't matter how much money was spent — because it was all about providing jobs. Well, it seems those who have been benefiting the most are the big bosses leading this failing and costly enterprise. There have been repeated rows over big bosses' bonuses. And look at the wages and expenses of John Petticrew, the interim chief exec who quit in March. He was paid more than £200,000 for a year's work during a period where multiple hitches and delays beset the yard. The publicly owned firm also paid more than £8,000 to fund three round trips to Canada for Mr Petticrew. Meanwhile, the yard is to deliver the second ship, MV Glen Rosa, a decade after it was ordered — if we're lucky. If it ever sets sail, perhaps a change of name is in order. To the MV Fat Cat. Ferguson chief financial officer David Dishon said the executive's remuneration package was approved by ministers. The Scottish Government said: 'Remuneration and additional payments are a matter for Ferguson.' Elsewhere the number of foreign voters in Scotland has doubled in a decade — with a record one in 20 now non-UK citizens. Some 195,400 people from overseas have registered to cast their ballot compared to below 100,000 at the time of the independence referendum, new figures show. Meanwhile the total tally of registered voters is at a joint all-time high at 4.28million — the same as for the 2014 indy ballot and the 2021 Holyrood election. Just two per cent are under 18. Sandy Taylor, of the National Records of Scotland, said: 'The number of people registered to vote in UK, Scottish parliamentary and local elections has remained broadly stable. 'Beneath the headline figures we see the number of foreign nationals at record levels.
BBC News
13-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Boss of nationalised Ferguson shipyard resigns
The interim boss of the nationalised Ferguson Marine shipyard had resigned for "personal reasons". John Petticrew had initially taken on the role for six months after the firm's board dismissed his predecessor a year go, but had agreed to stay on until Marine, based in Port Glasgow, said it was close to announcing a permanent chief executive to replace a statement it said Mr Petticrew would shortly return to his home in Canada to be with his family, and thanked him for his "demonstrable impact" on the business. Mr Petticrew, who grew up in nearby Greenock, was a member of the Ferguson Marine board of directors when it unexpectedly sacked chief executive David Tydeman last March, citing "performance" issues. His predecessor had won praise for making progress with the long-delayed CalMac ferries MV Glen Sannox and MV Glen Rosa, but found it difficult to accurately forecast delivery dates or final costs. Under Mr Petticrew's stewardship, several more short delays were announced but Glen Sannox was finally delivered in November and went into service on CalMac's Arran route in January. Ferguson's chief financial office David Dishon thanked Mr Petticrew for his contribution both as interim chief executive and non-executive director, and wished him well for the future. He added: "We remain focused on securing a sustainable and prosperous future for the yard and are very close to announcing a permanent CEO to replace John Petticrew. "We look forward to providing more detail on this very soon. In the meantime, we remain focused on our key priorities, to secure the future of the yard and deliver MV Glen Rosa as quickly and as efficiently as possible."Mr Petticrew recently told MSPs he would gladly take on the role of chief executive of Ferguson's on a permanent basis were it not for his family commitments in Canada. The shipyard has been seeking a permanent replacement for some time, and had appointed a manager from another shipbuilding firm, but the candidate changed his mind and stayed with his employer. Delivery update The shipyard is continuing with fitting out work on the second CalMac ferry MV Glen Rosa with an update on delivery dates expected later this month. The ferry had been due to be finished in September but Mr Petticrew said recently there was a risk of further delay. Four new large ferries being built in Turkey for CalMac have also been delayed further - adding to pressure on CalMac which is approaching the summer season with a shortage of vessels. The Cemre shipyard blamed labour shortages and factors such as the war in Ukraine and the Turkish earthquake for the latest first of the four vessels, MV Isle of Islay, will not arrive before July at the earliest.
