Liam Neeson steps down from childhood boxing club over abortion row

Liam Neeson has resigned as president of his childhood boxing club, following a reported row over his support for changes to abortion laws in Ireland.

Neeson was the head of the All Saints Amateur Boxing Club in his hometown of Ballymena, where he’d trained from the age of nine.

But according to a report in the Sunday Life, (later reported by the Irish News) locals and Catholic groups were angered by a video Neeson had made for Amnesty International, campaigning for the government to repeal the eight amendment in Ireland, which bans abortion in most circumstances.

A spokesperson confirmed Neeson had stood down, but made no further comment.

‘Father Ted’ creator Graham Linehan wrote the script for the campaign clip called ‘Chains’, which was first released online in October last year.

“A ghost haunts Ireland,” reads Neeson, “a cruel ghost of the last century, still bound to the land.

“It blindly brings suffering, even death to the women whose lives it touches. Feared by politicians, this is a ghost of paper and ink. A spirit that lives in the constitution, written for a different time. It is the shadow of the country we hoped we’d left behind.

“Ireland doesn’t have to be chained to its past. It’s time to lay this ghost to rest.”

Some anti-abortion campaigners called the video ‘shockingly offensive’, while others called for its boycott.

Abortion is only legal in the south of Ireland if the mother’s life is at risk, while in the North, it’s only allowed if there’s risk to both life, or permanent risk to mental or physical health.

Following the news, Linehan, who’s previously said he’s ’embarrassed’ by Irish abortion laws, took to Twitter to offer support to Neeson.

Neeson has not commented on the matter.

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