LIAM Neeson has said he believes a united Ireland will happen in his lifetime, and that Britain will be "pleased" at the north no longer being part of the UK.

The actor was speaking to Sky News on Thursday, promoting his new film Marlowe, when interviewer Beth Rigby asked him if he believed he would ever see unification happening.

The 70-year-old Michael Collins star, who hails from Ballymena, replied: "I think it will happen. I think Britain will be pleased...I think it could happen, yeah."

He went on: "But everybody has to be appeased, you know? The Protestants in the north of Ireland have a strong voice, I hear them, I know where they're coming from and they have to be respected if there's going to be a united Ireland.

"Their voice has to be heard; they have to be represented if a united Ireland comes about."

Neeson plays detective Phillip Marlowe in his new film - based on the character in novels by Raymond Chandler.

The film is helmed by Sligo-born Neil Jordan, who directed Neeson in Michael Collins.

Read more: 'The police won't touch you, but I will' - Liam Neeson stars in Neil Jordan's Marlowe