{"id":611187,"date":"2026-09-25T08:24:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T08:24:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/611187\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T08:24:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T08:24:09","slug":"she-never-accepted-no-liam-neeson-on-dogged-heroine-behind-tuam-mass-baby-grave-film-movies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/611187\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018She never accepted no\u2019: Liam Neeson on dogged heroine behind Tuam mass baby grave film | Movies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Liam Neeson<\/a> still remembers his shock and shame when he read a New York Times article about the mother and baby institution in Tuam, County Galway.<\/p>\n

It was 2017 and the article chronicled the campaign by Catherine Corless<\/a>, an amateur local historian, to expose abuse and neglect by Irish nuns that led to hundreds of children being buried in a mass, unmarked grave.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had such a visceral reaction,\u201d Neeson told the Guardian. \u201cI\u2019m obviously Irish, I was raised in the Catholic church, and I had a deep sense of embarrassment and obligation for the truth to come out and for there to be some accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n

Liam Neeson, the producer of The Lost Children of Tuam, says he felt a deep sense of obligation to expose the truth. Photograph: Gareth Cattermole\/Getty for IMDb<\/p>\n

It prompted the actor \u2013 and former altar boy \u2013 to use his heft in the film industry to become a producer for the first time. He optioned the article, visited Corless at her home and assembled a team to put the story on screen.<\/p>\n

The result, nine years later, is The Lost Children<\/a> of Tuam, a feature film that is released in Ireland this week and in the UK next month. \u201cThis was such an important story for the world to know about and to give a voice to the hundreds of babies and children that died,\u201d said Neeson.<\/p>\n

The release coincides with the continuing excavation of a 5,000 sq metre (53,820 sq ft) site where the Bon Secours order is believed have interred 796 infants who died at the St Mary\u2019s mother and baby home between 1925 and 1961.<\/p>\n

Catherine Corless at the site of the former mother and baby home in Tuam, County Galway, where it is believed 796 infants were buried. Photograph: Rory Carroll\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

An international team of forensic archaeologists and other specialists has found skeletal remains of 99 babies and children since starting work last year<\/a> \u2013 the result of Corless\u2019s research, a judicial commission and a promise by the Irish state to seek truth and justice for survivors and relatives of those who died.<\/p>\n

It is part of a wider reckoning of the mistreatment of women and children in state- and religious-run institutions across Ireland<\/a>. Tuam, however, stands out for its macabre details \u2013 some infants were buried in a disused subterranean septic tank \u2013 and the doggedness of the woman who exposed it.<\/p>\n

Monica Dolan, who plays Catherine Corless, in a scene from The Lost Children of Tuam. Photograph: Element Pictures<\/p>\n

In her quest for answers, Corless never accepted \u201cno\u201d, said Neeson. \u201cThe detective work she did to uncover this atrocity involving the relationship between the state and the church was extraordinary.\u201d<\/p>\n

The film, based on the New York Times article by Dan Barry<\/a>, tells the story of how Corless, a former textile factory secretary with an interest in local history, began researching the site for an essay. Officials and the Bon Secours order fobbed her off but Corless discovered that 796 children had died without burial records before the institution was closed in 1961 and demolished.<\/p>\n

Early reviews<\/a> of the film, which was written by Rebecca Lenkiewicz<\/a> and directed by Frank Berry<\/a>, say it is sensitive and stirring, with the English actor Monica Dolan<\/a> giving a powerful central performance.<\/p>\n

Director Frank Berry, Monica Dolan and Liam Neeson promote The Lost Children of Tuam in Toronto. Photograph: Gareth Cattermole\/Getty for IMDb<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s brilliant \u2013 so natural, so down to earth,\u201d said Corless. \u201cShe portrayed me as I am. She has an English accent so how on earth did she capture the way I speak?\u201d<\/p>\n

Andrew Bennett, who plays her husband, Aidan, has also captured his personality and the couple\u2019s relationship, she said.<\/p>\n

Corless has watched the film three times \u2013 two private viewings for her family and survivors, and the premiere at the Galway film Fleadh in July, where it won best Irish film. \u201cI was so nervous I needed to see it a few times,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Andrew Bennett and Monica Dolan, who play Aidan and Catherine Corless. The actors have captured their personality and relationship, says Corless. Photograph: Element Pictures<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re ordinary people. We have a farm. That a film would be made about us, it was out of this world. It\u2019s done with great respect, with the odd little bit of humour in it too, and it just hits people, it hits you hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Berry, the director<\/a>, said the film showed Corless\u2019s integrity and persistence. \u201cHer work revealed a lot of very hard truths about Ireland. It\u2019s a way of telling truths but with an inspirational central character. It shows that one person can achieve amazing things.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Liam Neeson still remembers his shock and shame when he read a New York Times article about the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":611188,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[430,156,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-611187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=611187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611187\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/611188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=611187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=611187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=611187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}