Book censorship Book censorship is the act of some authority taking measures to suppress ideas and information within a book. Censorship is "the regulation of free speech and other forms of entrenched authority". Censors typically identify as either a concerne ...

was carried out in several instances in Ireland between 1929 and 1998, with all remaining bans from that period having expired by 2010. However, the laws remained on the statute books and a book was banned again in 2016. Censorship was enacted by a 1929 act of the Irish Free State.

History

Following the creation of the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...

in 1922 a

Committee on Evil Literature The Committee on Evil Literature was a committee set up by the Irish Free State's Department of Justice in 1926 to look into censorship of printed matter. After independence in 1922, the authorities of the Irish Free State came under increasing ...

was appointed in 1926, reporting to the

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

. The Censorship of Publications Acts of 1929 followed, and established the

Censorship of Publications Board In Ireland, the state retains laws that allow for censorship, including specific laws covering films, advertisements, newspapers and magazines, as well as terrorism and pornography. In the early years of the state, censorship was widely enfor ...

. Books could be banned that were considered to be indecent or obscene, as could newspapers whose content relied too much on crime, and works that promoted the "unnatural" prevention of conception or that advocated abortion.''Iris Oifigúil'', 14 May 1930 Ireland's culture at the time was strictly religious.

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

—then the religion of 93% of the population — was the fundamental philosophy behind the censorship laws. In 1933,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (, ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was a prominent Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of governm ...

felt that the arts in Ireland were to be encouraged when they observed the "holiest traditions", but should be censored when they failed to live up to this ideal. Among the first 13 books to be banned (announced in the ''Iris Oifigiúil'', in May 1930) were ''

Point Counter Point ''Point Counter Point'' is a novel by Aldous Huxley, first published in 1928. It is Huxley's longest novel, and was notably more complex and serious than his earlier fiction. In 1998, the Modern Library ranked ''Point Counter Point'' 44th on ...

'' by

Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the prominent Huxley ...

, ''

The Well of Loneliness ''The Well of Loneliness'' is a lesbian novel by British author Radclyffe Hall that was first published in 1928 by Jonathan Cape. It follows the life of Stephen Gordon, an Englishwoman from an upper-class family whose " sexual inversion" (hom ...

'' by

Radclyffe Hall Marguerite Antonia Radclyffe Hall (12 August 1880 – 7 October 1943) was an English poet and author, best known for the novel ''The Well of Loneliness'', a groundbreaking work in lesbian literature. In adulthood, Hall often went by the name Jo ...

and several books on sex and marriage by

Margaret Sanger Margaret Higgins Sanger (born Margaret Louise Higgins; September 14, 1879September 6, 1966), also known as Margaret Sanger Slee, was an American birth control activist, sex educator, writer, and nurse. Sanger popularized the term "birth control ...

and

Marie Stopes Marie Charlotte Carmichael Stopes (15 October 1880 – 2 October 1958) was a British author, palaeobotanist and campaigner for eugenics and women's rights. She made significant contributions to plant palaeontology and coal classification, ...

. From 1930 onwards, many books of undoubted literary merit, as well as serious books on reproductive issues and sexual health, were banned. Banned books were listed in the Government publication ''

Iris Oifigiúil ''Iris Oifigiúil'' (; "''Official Journal''") is the official gazette of the Government of Ireland. It replaced ''The Dublin Gazette'', the gazette of the Dublin Castle administration, on 31 January 1922. ''The Belfast Gazette'' was established ...

'', and the list, or a selection, was usually published in the

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

. Among Irish books or authors whose book(s) were banned were

Liam O'Flaherty Liam O'Flaherty ( ; 28 August 1896 – 7 September 1984) was an Irish novelist and short-story writer, and one of the foremost socialist writers in the first part of the 20th century, writing about the common people's experience and from their ...

(1930),

Seán Ó Faoláin Seán Proinsias Ó Faoláin (27 February 1900 – 20 April 1991) was one of the most influential figures in 20th-century Irish culture. A short-story writer of international repute, he was also a leading commentator and critic. Biography Ó ...

(1932),

Francis Stuart Henry Francis Montgomery Stuart (29 April 19022 February 2000) was an Irish writer. He was awarded one of the highest artistic accolades in Ireland, being elected a Saoi of Aosdána, before his death in 2000. His years in Nazi Germany led to a g ...

(1939),

Oliver St. John Gogarty Oliver Joseph St. John Gogarty (17 August 1878 – 22 September 1957) was an Irish poet, author, otolaryngologist, athlete, politician, and well-known conversationalist. He served as the inspiration for Buck Mulligan in James Joyce's novel ...

(1942), ''

The Tailor and Ansty ''The Tailor and Ansty'' is a 1942 book by Eric Cross about the life of the Irish tailor and storyteller, Timothy Buckley, and his wife Anastasia ("Ansty") Buckley (née McCarthy). The book was banned by the Censorship of Publications Board becau ...

'' by Eric Cross (1942), ''

The Gadfly ''The Gadfly'' is a novel by Irish-born British writer Ethel Voynich, published in 1897 (United States, June; Great Britain, September of the same year), set in 1840s Italy under the dominance of Austria, a time of tumultuous revolt and upris ...

'' by

Ethel Lilian Voynich Ethel Lilian Voynich, ''née'' Boole (11 May 1864 – 27 July 1960) was an Irish-born British novelist and musician, and a supporter of several revolutionary causes. She was born in Cork (city), Cork, but grew up in Lancashire, England. Voynich ...

(1947),

Maura Laverty Maura Laverty (née Kelly; 15 May 1907 – 26 July 1966) was an Irish novelist, playwright, journalist, broadcaster and cookery expert known for her work on the Irish television drama serial, ''Tolka Row''. She published several novels, short stor ...

(1948),

Walter Macken Walter Macken (3 May 1915 – 22 April 1967) (Irish Uaitéar Ó Maicín), was born in Galway, Ireland. He was a writer of short stories, novels and plays. Biography Walter Macken was originally an actor, principally with the Taibhdhearc (where h ...

(1948), Frank O'Connor (1951),

Sam Hanna Bell Sam Hanna Bell (16 October 1909 – 9 February 1990) was a Scottish-born Northern Irish novelist, short story writer, playwright, and broadcaster. Bell was born in Glasgow to Ulster Scots parents. Following the sudden death of his father in ...

(1952),

Brian Cleeve Brian Brendon Talbot Cleeve (22 November 1921 – 11 March 2003) was a writer, whose published works include twenty-one novels and over a hundred short stories. He was also an award-winning broadcaster on RTÉ television. Son of an Irish fathe ...

(1952),

Benedict Kiely Benedict "Ben" Kiely (15 August 1919 – 9 February 2007) was an Irish writer and broadcaster from Omagh, County Tyrone. Early life Kiely was born near Dromore, County Tyrone and was a student at the Christian Brothers School in Omagh. In 193 ...

(1954). The Censorship of Publications Act, 1967, limited the period of prohibition orders of books to twelve years (although books released after this period could be banned again by the Board). The act thus allowed the immediate sale of over 5,000 previously banned books. Strict censorship has since ceased, and virtually all books banned have been unbanned. A 2007 era listing of banned books showed that none had been banned since 1998. Contrary to popular belief,

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

's ''

Ulysses Ulysses is one form of the Roman name for Odysseus, a hero in ancient Greek literature. Ulysses may also refer to: People * Ulysses (given name), including a list of people with this name Places in the United States * Ulysses, Kansas * Ulysse ...

'' was technically never banned in Ireland, but this was because it was never imported and offered for sale, for fear of such a ban and its attendant costs. In 1942 Senator Sir John Keane told the Seanad that 1,600 books had been banned since independence in 1922. He quoted examples of supposed indecency from several books to ridicule the law; prudishly, his extracts were not reported verbatim, but as: " he Senator quoted from the book.. Books containing references to terrorism or which could be considered slander under Irish law can still be banned – one will not be prosecuted for owning or importing them, but their sale is prohibited. This covers books such as ''The Committee: Political Assassination in Northern Ireland'', which has even been pulled from

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...

due to its content. However, importing this book and its sale second-hand are still legal. There are instances of books which were at one time banned in Ireland subsequently not only having the ban overturned but the books in question becoming required reading on the Leaving Certificate syllabus, e.g., Salinger's ''Catcher in the Rye'' (banned in October 1951). The Catholic

Index Index (or its plural form indices) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Index (''A Certain Magical Index''), a character in the light novel series ''A Certain Magical Index'' * The Index, an item on a Halo megastru ...

was underpinned by

Canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

until it was abolished in 1966. Thereafter Irish censorship of books declined markedly. In 2010 it was announced that, as the last book had been banned in 1998, no books were currently banned in Ireland as the 12-year limitation had run out on all existing bans. In March 2016 the Irish Censorship board issued its first ban in 18 years. The book ''The Raped Little Runaway'' by Jean Martin was deemed "indecent or obscene" by the board. Justifying its decision, the board pointed to the several instances of rape of a minor in the book.

List of banned books

Some of the banned books include:

References

{{Books

History

List of banned books

See also

References