A powerful reminder of Ireland’s painful past took centre stage on The Late Late Show last night, as actress Siobhán McSweeney, historian Catherine Corless and Hollywood star Liam Neeson came together to discuss the mother and baby homes in Tuam and Bessborough.

The trio appeared on Friday night’s season opener to talk about The Lost Children of Tuam, the film produced by Neeson which brings Corless’s long-running search for answers to a wider audience.

The movie premiered in Dublin last night and will be released in cinemas on September 25th.

For Corless, whose research helped bring the story of the Tuam home to national and international attention, the discussion was another chance to keep the experiences of mothers and children at the heart of the conversation.

The subject reaches far beyond one institution. Tuam and Bessborough are among the sites connected to Ireland’s history of mother and baby homes, where unmarried women and their children lived under a system that has left families seeking answers, recognition and justice.

The appearance also brought the issue into people’s living rooms through the Late Late Show with Derry girls and Traitors star McSweeney and Hollywood heavyweight, Neeson helping draw attention to a story that continues to affect survivors and relatives.

The discussion is likely to resonate with viewers because the questions surrounding these institutions are not simply history. For many families, the search for information about loved ones, and the need for their stories to be acknowledged, remains deeply personal.

While the conversation focused on Tuam and Bessborough, it also reflected the wider national effort to confront what happened in Ireland’s mother and baby homes and to ensure those who lived through the system are not forgotten.

Derry Girls and Traitors star Siobhán McSweeney spoke passionately about Bessborough in Blackrock, County Cork. Describing what happened at the home as ‘State sanctioned and religious murder’ she called for a halt to ongoing works at the site, and for the state to issue a compulsory purchase order.

Bessborough was the site of another Mother and Baby home, run by religious orders, and where it is believed the remains of 900 babies and young children lie undiscovered.

Planning permission was granted for the construction of over 100 apartments on the site, a plan which has been opposed by members of ‘The Justice for Magdalenes’ Research group and the ‘Clann Project’ who have said that 19 mothers and 859 infants associated with Bessborough remain missing, and that their burial places are unknown.

They argue that the site needs further investigation.

Many viewers were quick to take to social media to laud the line-up for their being outspoken on a national platform.

‘Catherine Corless is extraordinary. Well said, Liam Neeson,’ one viewer wrote, while another added: ‘Absolutely has to be told. She is a star for persevering.’

‘Well said Siobhan, good luck with your ambitions.’ a third penned