Tuam babies historian Catherine Corless said a new film depicting her shocking discovery that 796 children died at the former Tuam mother and baby home is ‘everything I hoped it would be’.

The Lost Children Of Tuam will have its world premiere at the Galway Film Fleadh on Saturday, July 11, but Ms Corless and her family have already been given a special preview.

Directed by Frank Berry and starring Bafta-winning actress Monica Dolan as Ms Corless, the film has been eight years in the making after Hollywood star Liam Neeson bought the rights in 2018.

‘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,’ Ms Corless told the Mail this week.

‘I know the story has been told in documentaries but this is something totally different altogether. They’ve made a super, super job of it, really and truly.’

The historian and campaigner acknowledged: ‘I suppose there’s a lot in Tuam that won’t be too pleased.’

But she said the survivors of the infamous institution ‘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.’

The film tells the story of how Ms Corless’s research led to the discovery of a mass unmarked grave in a sewage tank at the home, as first disclosed in the Irish Mail on Sunday in May 2014.

It is understood a group of survivors from the Tuam mother and baby home will have a special debriefing after attending the premiere, in case they experience trauma during the viewing.

Some of the survivors took part in the film as extras. A private viewing for survivors has also been arranged at a separate venue for the July 6 premiere.

We Survivors Tuam facilitator Liam Tansey said: ‘We’ll go along to the film and then make a room at a separate venue available afterwards for our members because we expect there to be a certain amount of re-trauma.

‘Even though some of the survivors are in their seventies, eighties and even older, these events are still very raw. There’s likely to be trauma for them after viewing the film.’

Three of Ms Corless’s grandchildren filled key roles in the forthcoming feature film, as previously revealed in the Mail.

A grandson plays one of two young boys who first stumbled on human remains in the disused sewage tank, and two of her granddaughters will play a pivotal scene where a young Ms Corless offers a child from the home a sweet. Co-produced by Element Pictures, the film was shot on location in Ireland last autumn, with the filmmakers on site in Tuam from September to November.

It is based entirely on a feature-length story published in the New York Times, which was also headlined The Lost Children Of Tuam.

In a statement, Liam Neeson and the film’s other producers said: ‘We are so honoured and proud to begin the journey of The Lost Children Of Tuam with its world premiere in Galway at the Fleadh and that audiences will now see this profound story of relentless pursuit and dedication in uncovering the horrific truth of the events in Tuam that shocked our nation to its core and is still reverberating in every aspect of our society.

‘The truth will out.’

Charlene Lydon, programmer of the Galway Film Fleadh, said the film ‘was a profoundly moving and important piece of filmmaking’.

She added: ‘We are honoured to present its world premiere at the Galway Film Fleadh and to provide a platform for a story that continues to resonate both in Ireland and around the world.’