Colm Tóibín: rewriting Greek tragedy

Drawing on his memories of Northern Ireland, and images of violence from the Middle East, the author returns to the violent story of Clytemnestra and her childrenIn September 1986 I sat on a bench in the village green in Bessbrook, County Armagh, in Northern Ireland trying to pluck up the courage to knock on the door of Alan Black, who was the single Protestant survivor of what was known as the Kingsmill massacre – which had happened in January 1976. I was writing a book about the bor