He had his own tea
On Friday, September 18th, Liam and Irish historian Catherine Corless appeared as special guests on the Irish TV show *The Late Late Night Show* to present their film, *The Lost Children of Tuam*.
The film, based on a true story, is about the former mother-and-child home run by the Bon Secours Sisters in Tuam, County Galway. The film tells the story of Catherine Corless, who uncovered the atrocities committed at the home through her research.
On the show, Catherine said that this story absolutely needed to be told worldwide, and that making this film was crucial.
The film tells how Catherine uncovered the background of the events at the Bon Secours Sisters' mother-and-child home, where nearly 800 babies and toddlers died and were buried in unmarked graves or sewage pits, without any official burial records or registers. Catherine Corless fought a lonely battle against the silence of the state and the church, encountering considerable resistance. Catherine is portrayed in the film by British actress Monica Dolan.
Liam learned of the scandal in 2017 after an acquaintance, with whom he regularly went power walking in Central Park, told him about it and drew his attention to an article by Dan Barry in the New York Times.
"I grew up in Ireland and was raised Catholic. I was an altar boy," Liam said in a previous interview, "and after reading the article, I felt a mixture of deep sadness, shame, and a quiet anger that compelled me to act. I contacted Dan Barry, who wrote the article in the New York Times, and secured the rights." I used my influence in the film industry to secure the budget for the film and to draw attention to the story. The children deserve to have their fate brought to light and shown on the big screen.
The Irishman Frank Berry was announced as the director on September 18, 2025. Filming for *The Lost Children of Tuam* had already been underway for some time, but Berry had been working on the subject and the film since 2021.
On the show, host Patrick Kielty said to Catherine:
"Tell us how this film started"
"Well", Catherine replied, "Dan Barry the American journalist (New York Times), came over to visit us,during the summer,and he was very, very particular about every little detail about us and about what I had achieved so far at the time that I was back in 2017. And we talked about the subject."
Kielty asked," And that was an article then Liam, that you had read?"
"Yes, I had read", Liam answered.
And Catherine adds," Yeah,he did the article. "
"Deeply moved by it and bought the rights to the article . That was nine years ago", Liam added.
"And then this man turns up on your doorstep ", Kielty said.
"Well, Dan Barry leave us and said to me that Liam Neeson may be ringing me and that he was going to want to buy the rights to the film. He wanted my permission if he could do it. And I didn't really believe Dan Barry at the time, because he's a bit of a joker. But he kept repeating himself, ' Yeah, he's going to ring you."
"When Liam did , and he was at the airport and had a few words. He said "I'll be calling you and I would love to meet you and would it be all right, you know, to come over to your house?" , and I mean, for us that was huge."
Patrick Kielty then asked," Did you bake a scone of bread?"
"Lots of cups of tea. The trouble was lots of cups of tea ", Liam replied, and Catherine added, " The trouble was he was on a diet at the time, and he had his own special brand of tea. He had an herbal tea with him.A little pack."
Patrick Kielty laugh and said, "Yeah , these Hollywood divas".
To which Catherine replied, " Well, that's because he was on diet, you see.But ,anyway we had a ... we stayed for about two hours and said he'd love to do the film and I said by all means, you know, it means a lot to us and especially for the , you know, ... for you to highlight the idea of a film about Tuam and their babies and need for the excavation at the time, because I was at a time. Well, all right. The government had done the test excavation and they realised that, these were the home babies and there wasn't much of a move after that, you know, and I was really pushing hard that this is true that, you know, to have the evidence and the were beginning to stall a fair bit. So it was huge for us to be the idea of a film being made. "
I listening to the interview, and wrote down what I hear , and apologize for any mistakes.
❤️🇮🇪🍀💚🤍🧡
Maidin mhaith, a Liam a ghrá. Guím lá iontach síochánta ort agus bheinn an-sásta dá bhféadfaimis cupán tae a bheith againn le chéile go luath agus comhrá a dhéanamh. Sin uile atá uaim. Tabhair aire mhaith duit féin agus do do theaghlach agus fan sláintiúil. Is iontach an rud é go bhfuil tú anseo. Go raibh maith agat as an tacaíocht iontach a thug tú do UNICEF agus as an tacaíocht iontach a thug tú don scannán iontach tábhachtach seo, a bhfuil súil agam a fheiceáil go luath. Tá meas agam oraibh beirt. Go raibh maith agaibh.🙏🫶
