Where do you come in your family’s birth order and has it defined you?
I was born in 1954, and there was a big gap between me and my siblings. I’m fifth in my family’s birth order and I have four siblings. There is a four-year gap between my sibling before me and there are bigger gaps beyond that. I was teased a lot growing up. They usually say that the baby in the family is spoiled and all that kind of thing, but it wasn’t so with me. I was teased a fair bit by the elder siblings when I was a child, and sometimes it turned into a bit of ridicule. I kind of grew up with teasing and that was because I think I was very different from the rest of the family and my siblings. I was always a bit determined and maybe a bit obstinate at times because I was kind of fighting my way. I felt I never really fitted in with my family in that kind of a way. I was different and especially compared to my sibling before me, my older sister. My sister was quiet and she was perfect all around, and I could not fit in with that. I was always fighting to be myself and not to be changed. I think that fight and the way I grew up is why I have been able to do what I have done in the last few years in my work. I felt I had to fight for the little ones that had no voice and I just felt that I never really had a voice in the household so that is how it has really defined me as a person.
What is your middle name and what do you think of it?
My name is Catherine Patricia, and I never liked either name. I was born in March in 1954, so my name probably had something to do with St Patrick and St Patrick’s Day. My father’s name was also Patrick. There are Patricks everywhere in my family. I think I just did not want to be called that, and I really didn’t like it.
When did you last get angry?
The last time I got angry, to be honest, was probably last weekend because of Donald Trump’s visit to Doonbeg, Co Clare. Donald Trump being there was bad enough, but when I saw all the people in Doonbeg, well not everyone, but most of them, clapping and cheering for him. That is what really got to me. It’s bad enough that the Republican Party and Americans are cheering for him and cheering him on the whole time, but we all know the facts here. I know what Donald Trump is, and I know what he has done, and that is what really got me going recently.
What have you lost that you would like to have back?
Probably my teenage years. You have better health and you have more energy, and that is never coming back.
Where is your favourite place in Ireland?
The drive from Clifden into Leenaun in Co Galway. It is just spectacular. I love the mountains and nature and all that. I always think of that drive between Clifden and Leenaun and we really try to get down to there as much as we can.
What is your strongest childhood memory?
I remember I was in hospital as a child and I was maybe about six years old. At the time. I needed eye surgery and I remember, I’ll never forget it, I woke up after the surgery, and I was so terrified. I thought I had gone blind, because there were these bandages all over my eyes. I was trying so desperately to take off the bandages. I remember a nurse came in and gave a whole thing to me about leaving the bandages on and how I should not touch them again. It was very frightening, it was all so dark, and I did not know what was happening. But everything was fine once all the bandages were off.
When do you think you were happiest?
I would say I was happiest when I met my husband in my teen years. We met just through friends of friends when we were younger, meeting after school and things like that. We became soulmates, and he listened to me, really listened to me, and he appreciated me. He appreciated me more than my family did, and it was a new life, it was a new awakening for me. I’m happy to say that we are still soulmates, even though we’ve been through a lot of turbulence. But me and him were very alike, and that was when I found him, through the turbulence.
What do you think happens when we die?
Well not what the church is preaching to us. I think that is a fairy tale. The body evaporates and we go into molecules and all that, but I do believe that whatever goodness we have within us, whatever kindness, has to live on somewhere, and has to turn into something new, that’s my belief.
‘The forensic excavation team have recovered the skeletal remains of 99 infants and children at this site.’ Video: Enda O’Dowd Which actor would play you in a biopic about your life?
The actor Monica Dolan has played me in The Lost Children of Tuam this year, and it is out there now, and I must say, she was such a great choice. She is really fantastic, and she played me as a character so well. She just played me as I was and truly showed my want for the truth to come out, I have always wanted to stick with the truth, and she plays that very well. It is surreal though seeing yourself on screen, because [the idea for the film] came around about 10 years ago and it was just all surreal for our family. The film coming out is just so wonderful for us and the children and our grandchildren are in the film. My husband, Aidan, has even got a small part to play also. So it really is a huge deal for us in the family really and it’s going well so far. I wasn’t involved in the production of the film. I left it all to themselves.
Do you have any career/personal regrets?
I really do not think I have any personal regrets. I was just thinking on this the other day and we all have regrets. Small, tiny regrets. Maybe there are small, tiny regrets every single day, but we get through them and we put them behind us.
The Lost Children of Tuam, produced by Liam Neeson and starring Monica Dolan as Catherine Corless, is in cinemas from Friday, September 25th, with a gala screening taking place in Dublin this evening.