{"id":775118,"date":"2026-09-18T21:38:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T21:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/775118\/"},"modified":"2026-09-18T21:38:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T21:38:16","slug":"liam-neeson-i-got-angrier-and-angrier-im-an-irishman-i-was-an-altar-boy-but-i-was-horrified-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/775118\/","title":{"rendered":"Liam Neeson: \u2018I got angrier and angrier. I\u2019m an Irishman. I was an altar boy. But I was horrified\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nearly a decade ago, Liam Neeson<\/a>, long resident in the United States, sat down to read an article<\/a> in The New York Times titled The Lost Children of Tuam. Written by Dan Barry, the piece told how Catherine Corless<\/a>, a dogged amateur historian from that Co Galway town, had uncovered startling and upsetting irregularities in the records of the local Bon Secours<\/a> home for unmarried mothers. <\/p>\n

The deaths of hundreds of infants at St Mary\u2019s had been recorded, but no corresponding burial records were in evidence. Corless\u2019s research, which uncovered the deaths of 796 infants, went on to trigger yet another period of national anguish at the actions of the Catholic Church<\/a>. Some bodies appeared to have ended up in a septic tank.<\/p>\n

Neeson felt the world needed to know about this. Could this grim story really generate a feature film?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was Dan Barry\u2019s article that was brought to my attention in October 2017,\u201d he tells me. \u201cI read this and reread it and reread it, and I got angrier and angrier \u2013 and quite depressed. I\u2019m an Irishman, proud, brought up in the six counties, Irish Catholic. I was an altar boy for a number of years. I entertained the priesthood for 25 seconds during that period. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut I was horrified by it. And I thought, with whatever standing I have in the movie profession, I\u2019d love to try and get this off the ground as a film.\u201d<\/p>\n

All these years later, we find ourselves discussing Frank Berry\u2019s fine, gruelling The Lost Children of Tuam. Starring the Yorkshire-born actor Monica Dolan<\/a> as Corless, the film had a triumphant premiere<\/a> at Galway Film Fleadh<\/a> in July. Survivors of the homes were in the audience. Corless dominated the stage with a humble but assured oration. The Town Hall Theatre rocked with applause.<\/p>\n

Neeson ended up acting as producer on the project. I was surprised to learn that he had never received that credit before. Actors of his stature invariably drift into producing or directing at some point.<\/p>\n

\u201cI called my dear friend Jules Daly,\u201d he says. \u201cShe\u2019d trained under Ridley Scott and Tony Scott for 20 years. We worked together on a film years ago. I said, \u2018Jules, let me send you this article. Just read it.\u2019 She read my mind. She says, \u2018Let\u2019s do something about this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

There is little doubt that Neeson felt he had a moral duty. The story was everywhere in Ireland following the publication, from 2014 onwards, of Corless\u2019s revelations. The investigations continue. A report in this newspaper on continuing investigations from July noted<\/a> that \u201cin nine short months Tuam excavation team uncovers 99 infants and children\u201d. <\/p>\n

But much of the world still needs to hear about it. Indeed, as Neeson points out, these sorts of outrages are far from unique to these shores.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Catherine Corless: \u2018I was always a bit determined. I was teased a lot growing up\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a legend at the end of the film that says up to 9,000 babies, they think, are buried at various institutions that are no longer with us,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt could be more than that, you know. We are still discovering about it: here, in America, in Canada. Indigenous peoples. Burial mounds they are finding with bodies of kids in them. We have to uncover the truth. We have to. As uncomfortable as it is, we have to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Lost Children of Tuam: Monica Dolan as Catherine Corless in Frank Berry’s film. Photograph: Enda Bowe <\/p>\n

Nolan and Neeson make a contrasting pair. Now someway into his eighth decade, the Ballymena man has become more gravelly and sonorous than ever. He speaks quietly and slowly, but the room seems to shake when he does so. <\/p>\n

Dolan, both of whose parents were born in Ireland, is a sharp, lively presence with a friendly line in northern humour. Over the past decade or two she has developed into one of the age\u2019s most admired actors. <\/p>\n

I joke with her that few actors other than Michael Sheen<\/a> have played so many real people. She was chilling as Rosemary West<\/a> in Appropriate Adult. She was amusing as Marion Thorpe, wife of Jeremy, in A Very English Scandal. She was touching as Jo Hamilton, campaigning postmistress, opposite Toby Jones<\/a> in Mr Bates vs the Post Office.<\/p>\n

I wonder if it helps, in this case, that she had Irish parents.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot necessarily, because my father was from Swords and my mother is from Enniscorthy, in Co Wexford,\u201d she says. \u201cSo they\u2019ve got very different accents to each other but also very, very different to someone who\u2019s from the west of Ireland and how they speak. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s definitely a history and a spirit that was extremely helpful. But the actual sounds I had to work on quite hard, and I got a lot of help from the dialect coach, Poll [Moussoulides], and also from Catherine Corless herself.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Liam Neeson: \u2018I got angrier and angrier. I\u2019m an Irishman. I was an altar boy. But I was horrified\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

It is good that film-makers now actually care what part of Ireland a character comes from. As recently as 30 years ago any vaguely Irish accent would do.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember, when I went over to London for the first time, when I left Ireland, you\u2019d meet casting directors,\u201d Neeson says. \u201c\u2018What height are you?\u2019 they\u2019d say. \u2018Six foot four.\u2019 \u2018You can change your accent, right?\u2019 Ha ha!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah. That\u2019s the thing,\u201d Dolan says. \u201cBut if you go in speaking RP\u201d \u2013 received pronunciation \u2013 \u201cthey assume that you can change your accent.\u201d<\/p>\n

She got the green passport a few years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot that long ago,\u201d she says. \u201cIt was right after Brexit, actually. The day after we all found out that we weren\u2019t going to be in the European Union any more. I was just in shock. The day after that I applied for my Irish passport.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was a child I always wanted one. I just really liked them because they were green. And my parents said, \u2018No, you can\u2019t have one.\u2019 And I didn\u2019t realise that you could have two.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neeson\u2019s fascinating trajectory is well known. Born in Co Antrim in the early 1950s, he grew up as the son of a caretaker dad and a cook mum. He picked up an interest in drama while at St Patrick\u2019s College in Ballymena. He was also a decent boxer. More than once, Neeson has talked about how the shadow of Ian Paisley<\/a> loomed over his hometown. He was daunted by the preacher\u2019s gifts at the pulpit.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was very intimidating but extraordinary. I remember a couple of times creeping into his gospel hall to hear him,\u201d he told the BBC. \u201cHe was a big, big man … He was my height but twice as broad. He was pretty electrifying.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Lost Children of Tuam: Liam Neeson. Photograph: Gareth Cattermole\/Getty <\/p>\n

Which is to say there was no escaping religion (in its various shades) while growing up in Northern Ireland. <\/p>\n

The grim collection of scandals involving the Catholic Church that have bubbled up over the past few decades have sent many Irish people scurrying back to memories of childhood. <\/p>\n

Were their hints of abuse we ignored? How much was hiding in plain sight?<\/p>\n

Dolan and Neeson come from different sorts of Irish background.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was absolutely nothing that could have prepared me for the news in 2014 that there were nearly 800 babies found in a sewage tank in the west of Ireland,\u201d Dolan says. \u201cThat was just absolutely unfathomable and impossible to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd certainly the whole \u2013 30 years ago, as it is now \u2013 sexual-abuse stuff,\u201d Neeson says, pondering stories that broke later than they should have. \u201cI got that. I wasn\u2019t surprised by that. But on this I agree with Monica. Seven hundred and ninety-six babies? And they\u2019re going to be excavating for them over the next two years.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is an ongoing story. It is not over.<\/p>\n

\u201cNor should it be over.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MotherMother and baby home: Catherine Corless at a remembrance ceremony in 2019. Photograph: Joe O’Shaughnessy <\/p>\n

Neeson has contrasting public faces. For the first few decades of his career, when he appeared in films such as The Mission, Schindler\u2019s List and Michael Collins, he came across as a serious actor in the grand style. A mighty presence with a mighty voice. Much sympathy came his way in 2009 when his wife, the actor Natasha Richardson, died in a skiing accident.<\/p>\n

As a new decade broke, he reinvented himself, thanks largely to the Taken films, as a hugely prolific, frequently ruthless star of action cinema. Looking at the enormous array of such films, one wonders when he sleeps. <\/p>\n

Neeson does have a habit of generating controversy in interviews with eccentric outbursts, but for the most part he comes across as the most gently avuncular of fellows. Just note now everyone beamed over his rumoured romance<\/a> with Pamela Anderson<\/a> while publicising the recent Naked Gun reboot<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Lost Children of Tuam: Frank Berry, Monica Dolan and Liam Neeson at Toronto International Film Festival. Photograph: Gareth Cattermole\/Getty <\/p>\n

At that Galway premiere of The Lost Children of Tuam Corless noted that, as a Neeson fan, she could scarcely believe<\/a> the movie star had expressed an interest in telling her story. Taking a hands-on approach, he visited her and Aidan, her husband, in their own kitchen. How could she say no?<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think she was on board at the beginning,\u201d Neeson says. \u201cShe was very curious. Yes, I was in her kitchen with Aidan. And her pets. And the main thing I wanted to say to her was \u2013 and I did a lot of listening; she did a lot of talking \u2013 was to be patient. Any film takes a period of time. I think I did say to her that Schindler\u2019s List took 10 or 11 years for Steven<\/a> [Spielberg<\/a>, its director] to be happy with a script and a writer. But just exercise patience.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\u00a0\u2018Would you believe I got a call from Liam Neeson?\u2019: Catherine Corless film premieres in GalwayOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

They chose well. Frank Berry<\/a>, director of acclaimed social-realist projects such as Michael Inside<\/a> and Aisha<\/a>, has a graceful touch with actors. Dolan has a gift for winding strength in with everyday decency.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was also struck \u2013 I just told Monica this before \u2013 how ordinary it was to be in her kitchen,\u201d Neeson says. \u201cThe gardens in the field at the back. And Aidan. And they had been married forever. And yet she is still doing this extraordinary thing, this extraordinary investigation, and not taking no for an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Lost Children of Tuam: Andrew Bennett as Aidan Corless and Monica Dolan as Catherine Corless in Frank Berry’s film. Photograph: Enda Bowe <\/p>\n

The film makes clear that not everyone in Tuam was happy with the attention that came their way following the revelations. That must have layered greater pressure on the film-makers.<\/p>\n

\u201cSure, it\u2019s a small little township, you know,\u201d Neeson says, sympathetically. \u201cHere\u2019s Catherine stirring the pot. And you sensed that they all kind of knew something bad had happened. But, because it was the Catholic Church, and because it was a long time ago, and it was a workhouse, and there was a famine where a million and a half died, there were burial mounds. That is what Tuam means: burial mounds. It was, \u2018You know, leave it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

What does he make of how long it took for these stories to emerge? There has always been resistance to displaying the church\u2019s dirty linen in public.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe State and the Catholic Church were hand and glove, as we know,\u201d Neeson says. \u201cAnd I think the State gave a lot of authority to the Catholic Church, certainly in the running of these institutions. And the morals and the ethics of what it was to be \u2026 \u2018How dare a girl or a woman that\u2019s not married have a child?\u2019 They were the devil\u2019s issue, these children.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neeson\u2019s near-subsonic anger is striking. He appears to be speaking to himself as much as to Dolan or me.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat am I trying to say? It\u2019s horror. My mum and dad are no longer with me, nor are my grandparents, who were from Waterford. Even as a kid I could always detect … nothing sinister in them, but just something sad in their lives. Do you know what I mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

What does he attribute that to?<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing Irish. Being aware of so many secrets and the State and the church being together. I think. I know I am waffling a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

But still making sense. Being Irish still comes with its burdens.<\/p>\n

The Lost Children of Tuam is in cinemas from Friday, September 25th<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nearly a decade ago, Liam Neeson, long resident in the United States, sat down to read an article…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":775119,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[255612,255610,2597,6491,96,234657,255613,255616,7521,148790,234658,255611,7522,255614,7198,255615,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-775118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-bon-secours","tag-catherine-corless","tag-catholic-church","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-frank-berry","tag-galway-film-fleadh","tag-ian-paisley","tag-liam-neeson","tag-michael-sheen","tag-monica-dolan","tag-mother-baby-homes","tag-pamela-anderson","tag-rosemary-west","tag-steven-spielberg","tag-toby-jones","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=775118"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775118\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/775119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=775118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=775118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=775118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}