The shocking true story behind Monica Dolan’s new film The Lost Children Of Tuam

Bafta-winning actress Monica Dolan has said she hopes her latest film will encourage audiences to confront injustice, as she brings the heartbreaking story of Ireland’s mother and baby homes to the big screen.Dolan, 57, stars in The Lost Children Of Tuam, playing amateur historian Catherine Corless, whose investigation into a former mother and baby home in County Galway uncovered a shocking history of neglect and the deaths of hundreds of children.Speaking to the Press Association, the actress, who also starred in ITV’s acclaimed drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, described the story as “extremely affecting” and said she believes drama can help audiences connect with historical injustices on a deeply personal level.In The Lost Children Of Tuam, Dolan plays amateur historian Catherine CorlessEnda Bowe /PA Wire“I think it’s about seeing an injustice anywhere and thinking, ‘People need to know about that’,” she said.“Quite often, people might know something about it, or know an aspect of it, but I think that if there’s somebody like Catherine, once she becomes a character in a film [...] once it’s somebody you go on a journey with in a film or a piece of drama [...] you connect with them in a very personal way.”She added: “You see things from their point of view as an audience, and I just think that really helps the audience to sense the injustice, if there is one, or simply to go on that journey with them.”The film explores Ms Corless’s painstaking efforts to uncover the truth about St Mary’s mother and baby home in Tuam, where research she led indicated that the remains of 796 babies and young children had been buried in a sewage system between 1925 and 1961.Dolan attended the Toronto International Film Festival at InterContinental Toronto Centre in SeptemberGettyHer findings, published in 2014, helped bring international attention to one of the darkest chapters in modern Irish history.Religious-run mother and baby homes housed as many as 68,000 people across Ireland. Women who entered the institutions had their babies forcibly taken from them for adoption, while up to 9,000 children died in such institutions across the country.Produced by Liam Neeson and based on a 2017 New York Times article by Dan Barry, the film follows Ms Corless as she pursues answers, facing resistance from the local community, the Irish state and the Catholic Church.The film is produced by Liam Neeson and based on a 2017 New York Times article by Dan BarryGettyHer investigation also brings her into contact with survivors and campaigners determined to secure justice.Dolan said she believes Ms Corless’s ordinary background makes her story all the more powerful, as she was an amateur historian who began her research while attending evening classes.“I think that makes it more identifiable for people. She’s just someone who’s going to a history class in the evening,” she said.Read MoreDolan was particularly struck by a lesson Ms Corless encounters during her research: that historians must pay attention not only to what survives in the record, but also to what is missing.Dolan said: “And I love that the history teacher says, probably right at the beginning, that when you’re doing any kind of history, it’s as important to look for what’s not there as what is there. If something’s not there, ask yourself why.Dolan won a Bafta for Appropriate Adult and an Olivier Award for her role in All About EveGetty“And the whole thing was that she started her research into the mother and baby home, and there was absolutely nothing there. Then she pursued that.”Dolan, who won a Bafta for Appropriate Adult and an Olivier Award for her role in All About Eve, said the film’s ability to move the story forward, even in a small way, was central to her decision to take part.She said: “With any project, I always go with my gut, and I found this story extremely affecting.“It was a very shocking story, and the script really moves the story forward, even in a small way.”“It is also saying something important – it’s certainly not filmmaking for the sake of it. Hopefully it is something that will make people talk and listen to each other.”The Lost Children Of Tuam is in UK cinemas from Friday.