Three times Oscar winner has Tuam link

NOT MANY people know it, but Tuam has a connection with Daniel Day-Lewis, who made history on Sunday night by winning the Oscar for Best Actor for the third time. The connection is not one that will have Day-Lewis fans flocking to the town, but it is real nonetheless. The actorâ€â„¢s grandfather was a Church of Ireland clergyman who was a curate in Tuam from 1900 to 1901. The Rev Frank Cecil Day-Lewis was a popular curate at St Maryâ€â„¢s Cathedral and The Tuam Herald of November 2, 1901, reported that he had â€Å“made many friends among the Catholic population as well as endearing himself to the congregation in whose midst he labouredâ€Â. The report went on to describe him as â€Å“a preacher and vocalist of the highest orderâ€Â â€â€ so it wasnâ€â„¢t from the wind that Daniel took it. From Tuam, the Reverend Frank went to Stradbally, Co Laois, where his son Cecil, later to become the British Poet Laureate, was born. Cecil married the actress Jill Balcon, and their son Daniel was born in 1957. His first film role was at the age of 14 as a vandal in the film Sunday Bloody Sunday, and he has not looked back since. Will he be invited back to his grandfatherâ€â„¢s parish during Tuam 400? Would he come? Who knows?