Irish journalist, author and screenwriter Fiona McPhillips talks about what inspired her debut novel When We Were Silent
BY FIONA MCPHILLIPS, IMAGE BY RUTH MARIA MURPHY
For many, the social progress that has swept across Ireland in the last thirty years has been nothing short of phenomenal. As the number of practising Catholics fell from 93% of the population to 27%, we decriminalised homosexuality, welcomed marriage equality with open arms, repealed the abortion laws and elected an openly gay (male, but still…) Taoiseach. Who could have seen it coming?
Well, lots of people. Certainly, anyone who was a teenager in 1980s Dublin will remember the outpouring of disbelief and anger when fifteen-year-old Ann Lovett died giving birth alone in a grotto, or when Joanne Hayes was charged with the murder of her stillborn son and another unrelated baby, or when a series of homophobic murders prompted mass demonstration.
This was the environment in which I set my debut novel When We Were Silent. Lou Manson is an outsider in the throes of grief and rage when she enrols as a scholarship student at the private Highfield Manor convent school. But Lou has not come for prestige, she has come for revenge. Following the death of her best friend, she is on a mission to expose the institutional abuse at the heart of Highfield.
It’s not long before Lou discovers she’s no match for the powers that be but she manages to find solidarity and even love with the popular and privileged Shauna Power, a prefect and star of the school swimming team. Shauna has secrets of her own but still, the two start a relationship under cover of their presumed heterosexuality.
I wanted to steer clear of the shame and stigma usually associated with queer stories of that era, partly because that wasn’t my experience and also because we really don’t need any more of those stories.
There’s also the fact that even in the shadow of the Catholic church, the upper and middle classes were always able to get away with a lot more experimentation in terms of sexuality, drugs and lifestyle, all experiences that would have been weaponised against the less privileged, and ultimately, we see how differently working-class Lou is treated in comparison to Shauna.
As well as the class differences, Shauna’s elite position at the school lifts her perceived worth above that of her peers so that any lapses in “morality” are excused and even ignored by Highfield, while Lou is hit with the full force of the establishment. However, in the end, the lack of scrutiny and consequence means that Shauna never has to confront her own sexuality.
When We Were Silent is an exploration of power, corruption and retribution but it is also a love letter to all the women who have fought so hard for change and continue to do so in a country still coming to terms with its dark and abusive past.
When We Were Silent by Fiona McPhillips is published by Bantam (£16.99)
DIVA magazine celebrates 30 years in print in 2024. If you like what we do, then get behind LGBTQIA media and keep us going for another generation. Your support is invaluable.
