Say Nothing: Who was Jean McConville as The Troubles drama released on Disney+

A new TV drama depicting the murder of Belfast woman Jean McConville is now streaming on Disney+.

Say Nothing is based on the New York Times best selling book of the same name by Patrick Radden Keefe and is billed as "a gripping story of murder and memory in Northern Ireland during the Troubles".

Spanning four decades, Say Nothing starts with the disappearance of Jean McConville, a single mother of ten from Belfast who was abducted from her home in 1972.

The widow was murdered by the IRA, with her body finally discovered on Louth beach in 2003 after an extensive search.

Say Nothing explores the stories of various Irish Republican Army (IRA) members and explores the lengths some individuals will go to uphold their beliefs in a divided nation.

But who was Jean McConville and why was she killed?

READ MORE: New Disney+ series Say Nothing cast, release date, plot

READ MORE: Meet the cast of Say Nothing in new Disney+ drama around the Troubles

Who was Jean McConville?

Mother-of-10 Jean McConville was originally from east Belfast and converted to Catholicism after marrying former British soldier Arthur McConville.

In 1971, she and her family moved from east Belfast over tensions in the community and set up home in the Divis flats on Lower Falls Road in west Belfast.

Her husband Arthur McConville died from cancer in January 1972.

In November 1972, the 38-year-old was abducted from a bingo hall, taken to a house and beaten by an IRA member who accused her of being an informer.

In the following month, she was dragged away from her home by the IRA and her children never saw her again.

She was bundled into a vehicle driven by Dolours Price and taken across the border where she was shot dead in the back of her head and buried in a secret grave.

McConville's body was found by walkers on Shelling Hill beach in Co Louth, in the Republic of Ireland on August 27, 2003.

Why was Jean McConville killed?

Jean McConville became one of the Disappeared - people who were abducted, murdered and secretly buried by the IRA during the Troubles.

It was speculated that she was taken after being seen by neighbours helping an injured British soldier. The IRA claimed she was an informant, but this was denied by her family.

The allegation was also dismissed after an official investigation by the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman.

Helen, and her husband, Seamus McKendry, had campaigned for many years demanding that the Provisional IRA admitted they killed the widow and share where her remains are.

After the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, the IRA admitted in 1999 that it murdered nine of the Disappeared - including Jean McConville - and buried them at secret locations.

In 2003 and shortly after Jean McConville's body was discovered, IRA said it was sorry that the suffering of the families had continued for so long.

Jean's family said the IRA's apology meant nothing and had campaigned for the IRA to tell families of other victims where they were buried.