Liam Neeson has joined calls for the Catholic Church in Ireland to identify the remains of hundreds of babies and children found buried under a former mother and baby home in Co Galway.
The actor is currently developing a movie to tell the story of the remains of children found in an unmarked grave at the home for unmarried women and their children that was run by Bon Secours nuns until it closed in 1961. According to the New York Times, 796 children died at the home between 1925 and 1961. The newspaper says remains of those who died were found in septic tanks and DNA analysis showed the children to be between the ages of 35 weeks and 3 years.
Neeson is among those calling for the bodies of the babies to be identified.
'DNA technology is now available to identify all these bones, belonging to possibly over 790 babies and children, still lying in the ground in Tuam,' he told The Daily Mail.
'The Irish government, aided by the Catholic Church and especially the nuns' order, the Congregation of the Sisters of Bon Secours, must not shirk the responsibility of giving these souls the dignity and respect of identification.
'They had a right to exist. They were not "the devil's issue", as some people and establishments referred to them. A wrong is still a wrong and a crime is still a crime no matter how many years have passed. A proposed bronze plaque isn't going to absolve those responsible for this horror.'
As Pope Francis held Mass in Dublin on Sunday, a vigil was taking place 130 miles away in the town of Tuam for the babies.
Among those making the solemn procession from Tuam town hall to the site of the former home was Annette McKay, Councillor for Moorside ward in Bury, Lancashire, who is demanding a full forensic investigation of the site.
According to the Daily Mail, her sister Mary Margaret O'Connor died from whooping cough and heart failure while staying in the home with her mother Maggie O'Connor.
During the vigil, the names of those buried were read aloud. Ms McKay said it was a 'beautiful' moment.
'Something that was inhumane became human,' she said, according to the Belfast Telegraph. 'It was very moving.'
