'Lost Children of Tuam' Director on the key role Schindler's List star Liam Neeson played behind the scenes of the forthcoming film - and the emotional interview that made him want to direct it

Published: 12:01, 16 July 2026 | Updated: 12:01, 16 July 2026 The director of a new feature film about the former Tuam mother and baby home said survivors were ‘hugely emotional’ after they were given a special preview screening this week. In an interview with the Irish Mail on Sunday ahead of the film’s premiere in Galway last night, director Frank Berry said the film was about heroes. ‘It’s a film that looks into the past through [local historian and campaigner] Catherine Corless’s work, but it’s also a contemporary film that reflects inspiring people like Catherine who don’t accept the status quo. ‘People who say, “hold on a minute” and ask us to take a second look at things.’ The Lost Children Of Tuam tells the story of how Corless’s research discovered that 796 children had died at the home in the course of 35 years – many buried in a sewage tank on the site – both facts having been first disclosed in the Irish Mail on Sunday in May 2014. The film, which stars the BAFTA award–winning actress Monica Dolan as Corless, has been eight years in the making after Hollywood star Liam Neeson bought the rights in 2018 to an article under the same title in the New York Times. Award–winning director Berry from Dublin explained that he didn’t think twice about taking on the project. Director Frank Berry and BAFTA award–winning actress Monica Dolan as who stars as Catherine Corless ‘I’ve been a fan of Catherine’s and the work she’s done ever since I first heard about her and the Tuam home,’ he told the MoS. ‘I saw her interviewed on the Late Late Show in 2014.  'I thought she was amazing, so when I received an email with the name “Catherine Corless” in the subject line relating to a script, I really kind of lit up. ‘Normally I would write the script myself from the ground up but Catherine is such an inspiring person and she’s somebody I have admired so much that I was pretty much on board right from the beginning. ‘Then when I read Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s beautiful script, well, I was just hoping that it would be as good as it was.  'It was a great adaptation of the piece of work by Dan Barry in the New York Times, which is a stunning piece of writing in itself. ‘It was both those pieces of beautiful writing, and also the inspiration from Catherine, that made me want to do the film.’ Berry said it was especially poignant that the film was premiered in Galway during the Film Fleadh, in the same county as the Tuam home. He said that the special showing of the film for survivors in Galway city last Tuesday was the most memorable screening that he has ever been at. ‘The screening was unlike any other film I’ve ever been to,’ he said.  'There was silence at the end and then the emotion followed. ‘I’m glad to say there was very much a sense that the survivors’ voices are in the film – that was a very important thing for all of us.  'The survivors told us that at the end and we got a lot of very positive responses. ‘I don’t know if “positive” is even the right word to use, but we got a lot of emotional responses and gratitude for the way that we approached the film.’ The director then added: ‘This is a story that means an awful lot to a lot of people.  Frank shared, 'We worked very hard on making sure that the script reflects Catherine’s work and also that it contained the voices of the survivors' 'It deals with a lot of lived experience, a lot of pain and trauma that still exists and I felt the weight and responsibility of that from the beginning. ‘I knew it was a film that would take a lot of care and sensitivity and I approached it in the way that I’ve approached all my other films, which is with honesty and to listen to people and to be responsible. 'We worked very hard on making sure that the script reflects Catherine’s work and also that it contained the voices of the survivors – that was a very strong focus in the film.’ As reported in the MoS last month, counsellors were on hand for both screenings this week to offer help to survivors with any trauma they may have felt after watching the film. Berry said: ‘There was a therapist on standby at the screening if anyone wanted to avail of that service and we also just sat around for an hour after the film just talking very informally. ‘That kind of care is running throughout the production, particularly the survivors’ screening and at the premiere.’ Berry also revealed Liam Neeson has been a constant presence in the wings since the film first went into production. ‘Liam has been very involved from the beginning.  'He’s been involved with the scripts and he’s been watching rough cuts the whole way through. ‘It really, genuinely is a subject close to his heart and he was very much present and a really close member of the team. ‘It’s safe to say he gives the film the thumbs–up.’ Corless herself was in attendance at the world premiere last night at the Town Hall Theatre in Galway city centre, as part of the Galway Film Fleadh. She and her family had already seen a rough cut before it was finally completed. 'Liam been involved with the scripts and he’s been watching rough cuts the whole way through' Last month, she told the MoS the film was ‘everything she hoped it would be.  'It’s very, very special altogether and the truth is running through it all the way. ‘It’s the whole truth and nothing but the truth.’ The historian and advocate said the film–makers ‘made a super, super job of it, really and truly’. And she added: ‘The survivors are delighted.  'Their stories are out there, they’re on film.  'I’m so happy for them, and I’m so happy it’s come to this.’ Berry said of his film’s real–life central character: ‘She is really extraordinary. ‘We tried all the time to put her mind at rest, and explain to her about film–making and the entire creation process. ‘But you never really know what the reaction will be until a film is finished, and I’m very happy that she’s pleased.’ Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.