Introduction

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Melanie Swiatloch
Lucy Caldwell, Where They Were Missed (2006)
Where They Were Missed is told in two parts by Saoirse Pentland. The first part is set
in the 1970s during the first heavy unloading of the Troubles in Belfast. Saoirse is
six by then, her sister Daisy is only four. Their mother Deirdre, originally an
O’Conor, is from the Gaeltacht in the South of Ireland. Their father by contrast is
a Protestant Northerner working for the RUC. Told through the eyes of a child
the readers learn how the girls’ mother despairs more and more of the conflict
arising around them as well as their father’s role in the game. Having a Catholic
mother Saoirse and Daisy are treated as outsiders in their Protestant neighbourhood.
One day Daisy gets hit by an exploding bomb in their street. She succumbs
to her injuries in the hospital. This breaks Deirde completely and she decides to
bring Saoirse to her sister Bernadette and her husband Brendan in the South. The
second part is set ten years later during the 1980s. Saoirse is 16 by then, soon turning
17 and living in Gweebarra Sands with her aunt and uncle. Although her aunt
strongly disapproves of it Saoirse dates Johnny Mahon who later turns out being
involved in terrorist activities. Aunt Bernadette is always concerned that Saoirse
might end up an alcoholic as her mother did. Saoirse does not know where her
mother is currently situated and she begins to ask question about her disappearance.
Meanwhile her father has moved on from the past and is awaiting a baby.
He is still living in the North and visits Saoirse from time to time. He tells Saoirse
how he met her mother in 1968 in Derry during the Civil Rights Marches. This
fuels Saoirse’s appetite to learn more about the past and she searches the local
newspaper archives for material. She is rewarded with a picture showing her
mother in 1967 at one of the marches. When she asks her father for more information
he also tells her about her Protestant background. Saoirse’s great-grandpa
was an Orangeman in the 36th Ulster Division and was killed on the Somme. He
will not tell her more about her mother’s whereabouts, however. Aunt Bernadette
finally tells her her mother’s story and arranges a meeting. Deirde lives in La Retraite,
a place run by nuns where she has found peace. She talks to Saoirse but it
becomes clear she is still having problems dealing with the past and she cannot
really open up towards Saoirse. In the end Saoirse decides to travel up north to
visit her father and her little baby sister. She makes a detour, however, to see the
places of their parents’ and her own past driving through Derry and visiting places
of her childhood.