Censorship in the Republic of Ireland
Encyclopedia
Ireland
rarely exercises censorship though the state retains wide-ranging laws which allow for it, 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 enforced, particularly in areas which were opposed by Catholic dogma; including abortion
, sexuality
and homosexuality
.
in 1996, which was rated PG, and despite its depictions of extreme violence, the censors office has reduced age ratings in general and rarely cuts films. Ratings usually match those of the UK
, or are one level higher or lower. In 2000 The Cider House Rules
received an 18s certificate in Ireland due to its themes of abortion and incest, despite the fact that in UK the film received a 12s certificate.
Six film rating categories exist, although a film may have been re-rated by the time of its video/DVD release.
Three separate categories exist for video releases, although only two are in use:
The G, PG and 18 certifications have the same principles on video, but some 18s films may be denied a video release certificate.
Films which are banned and do not have an appeal lodged, or which fail on appeal, have an enforcement noticed published in Iris Oifigiúil
, the state's journal. The most recent enforcement notice, , appeared in the September 20, 2005 journal, and was the first of the year. Revocation notices are also published in the journal, where a film has been banned and then allowed. The DVD release of the 1978 film "I Spit on Your Grave
" is the most recent instance of an IFCO ban.
, Fantasia
, From Dusk Till Dawn
and A Clockwork Orange
. A review in 2000 has meant that many of these have since been un-banned and rated anywhere from PG to 18. During that review process it was decided that no more films would be banned for either theatre or video release, but some bans are still in place.
The Film Censors Office's official figures state that 2,500 films received theatrical performance bans, and over 11,000 films were cut, mainly pre-1965.
The most notable recent ban was that of Boy Eats Girl
in 2005, a film starring Irish actress Samantha Mumba
, due its graphic depiction of a suicide
attempt. Following an appeal, it was allowed pass uncut to a 15A rating, far from the highest possible.
Prior to the Video Recordings Act 1989 many films which were banned in the cinema were freely available on video tape to anyone in Ireland regardless of age.
specialised for decades in showing arthouse
films that were never noticeably cut. The National Film Institute (later Irish Film Institute) had originally been set up to comply with the 1939 encyclical Vigilanti Cura. At one time this gave rise to a legal anomaly where the 35 mm
prints of a particular film would to be required to have any "cuts" mandated by the Film Censors Office whereas the 16 mm
prints were not, on the erroneous belief that all 16 mm prints were destined for private film clubs. In practice, some commercial cinemas in smaller towns as well as "travelling cinemas" (often showing films in village halls owned by the Catholic Church) were only equipped to show the 16 mm prints. The closure of virtually all of these smaller cinemas (owing to the rising popularity of television and video) has meant that nowadays the only places showing these 16 mm prints are bona fide film clubs.
reviews newspapers and magazines referred to it by the Customs and Excise and by members of the public. Until the late 1980s a large number of (mainly foreign) newspaper and magazines were banned in Ireland Including Playboy
and the News of the World
, the British edition of which is still, theoretically, banned.
The listing of periodicals under permanent banning orders as of 2007 includes many publications which have ceased to be published, as well as ones which are now sold freely without any realistic chance of prosecution, such as Health and Efficiency and The Weekly News
. A large proportion of the banning orders date from the 1950s or before; and a similar proportion cover true crime
publications, a type which were once illegal due to a perceived risk of glorifying or encouraging criminal behaviour.
banned flyposting
for six days in May 2011 for the state visit
s of Elizabeth II and Barack Obama
The ban was aimed at left-wing parties, extremist republicans, fringe political and anarchist groups and environmental campaigners. In Dublin one public house
owner who erected a large poster stating that the "British Queen" was not welcome was ordered to remove it by the Irish police
, and threatened that the pub would lose its licence if he didn't comply.
, while legal in Ireland, isn't allowed to depict any acts which are illegal in the state. This also covers any participants being beneath the Irish age of consent
. If any of these are in a video, DVD, film, photograph or website, use and possession of them is illegal.
In the 1960s, the Roman Catholic Church
via Archbishop John Charles McQuaid
lobbied the Irish government to have pornography banned outright.
The government-controlled IE Domain Registry
currently has a ban on all pornography-related domain names. For example, the domains Pornography.ie and Porn.ie continue to be banned as they are considered "offensive or contrary to public policy or generally accepted principles of morality".
and approved allowing a transfer of over €3,700,000,000 into Allied Irish Bank, then an insolvent bank. Two Irish Times reporters were expelled from the court by judge Maureen Clark just before the hearing.
states that "The publication or utterance of blasphemous
, seditious, or indecent matter is an offence which shall be punishable in accordance with law”. This is currently enforced through the Defamation Act 2009, section 36. The law includes the offence of blasphemous libel
. It has yet to be enforced.
The new blasphemy law was enacted in 2009, allowing for fines of up to €25,000, simply because blasphemy was forbidden under the 1937 constitution and in the following 71 years there was no Act to enforce the provision. Scientist Richard Dawkins
described the new law as "wretched, backward and uncivilised".
The text defines the crime where: he or she publishes or utters matter that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion, thereby causing outrage among a substantial number of the adherents of that religion, and (b) he or she intends, by the publication or utterance of the matter concerned, to cause such outrage.
established a Committee on Evil Literature
that banned certain books and periodicals, even including Vogue magazine. Due to the Roman Catholic ethos of the state it was largely modelled upon the policies of the Vatican
's Index Librorum Prohibitorum
.
An Act of 1929 established the Censorship of Publications Board
. 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
. Ireland's culture at the time was very moral and religious. Catholicism—the religion of 93% of the population—was the fundamental philosophy behind the censorship laws. President
Éamon de Valera
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
by Aldous Huxley
, The Well of Loneliness
by Radclyffe Hall
and several books on sex and marriage by Margaret Sanger
and Marie Stopes
. 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
, and the list, or a selection, was usually published in the Irish Times. Among Irish books or authors whose book(s) were banned were Liam O'Flaherty
(1930), Seán Ó Faoláin
(1932), Francis Stuart
(1939), Oliver St. John Gogarty
(1942), The Tailor and Ansty
by Eric Cross
(1942), The Gadfly
by Ethel Lilian Voynich
(1947), Maura Laverty
(1948), Walter Macken
(1948), Frank O'Connor
(1951), Sam Hanna Bell (1952), Brian Cleeve
(1952), Benedict Kiely
(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
's 'Ulysses
' 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: "[The Senator quoted from the book.]".
Madonna
's controversial book Sex
was banned several weeks after its release in 1992 but unbanned in 2004, due to the 12 year limitation on initial banning orders.
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
due to its content. However, importing this book and its sale second-hand are 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).
In 2010 it was announced that, as the last book had been banned in 1998, no books were censored in Ireland any more as the 12-year limitation had run out on all existing bans.
in Northern Ireland
censorship was used to prevent Sinn Féin
and IRA
members from having access to the media. Under Section 31 of the Broadcasting Authority Act, it was forbidden to broadcast the voice of Sinn Féin members. This rule was brought in by Fianna Fáil Minister for Posts & Telegraphs
Gerry Collins in 1971 and strengthened by Labour's Conor Cruise O'Brien
in 1977.
Conor Cruise O'Brien
tried Section 31 to censor coverage of the troubles in the North of Ireland, which could have been seen as pro-nationalist, in papers such as The Irish Press
the editor Tim Pat Coogan
published editorials attacking the Bill.
The Fine Gael
/Labour Coalition Government tried to prosecute the Irish Press for its coverage of the maltreatment of republican prisoners by the Garda Heavy Gang, with the paper winning the case. the then government also prosecuted the publishers of The Hibernia magazine.
The United Kingdom operated a similar rule between 1988 and 1994, although British broadcasters subverted this censorship by dubbing Sinn Féin speeches and interviews, with an actor's voice repeating the speech word-for-word. This was not possible in Ireland as the Government maintained the broadcasting ban did not allow word for word broadcast of a speech etc. and had sacked the entire Raidió Teilifís Éireann
(RTÉ) authority in 1971 and jailed RTÉ's Kevin O Kelly when he interviewed IRA chief of staff Sean Mac Stiofain but did not say he was the voice on a taped interview.
However RTÉ even refused to broadcast Sinn Féin members when they were talking about matters completely unrelated to the Northern Troubles. For example, Sinn Féin member Larry O'Toole was not permitted to appear on RTÉ to talk about a trade union dispute he was involved in. Instead, clips of the speaker talking were shown, along with a brief summary of what was being said. The High Court later found that this exclusion was not justified under Section 31.
In 1991, European Commission of Human Rights
upheld the ban in case Purcell v. Ireland, though not unanimously. The Section 31 broadcasting ban was lifted in 1993 by Minister for Arts, Culture & the Gaeltacht Michael D. Higgins
as part of the Northern Ireland peace process
.
and Cosmopolitan
women's magazines sold in the Republic were specially printed with blank pages instead of advertisements for abortion clinics. In the 1980s, the Irish Family Planning Association and the Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin
students' union
s were successfully sued by the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children for publishing telephone numbers for abortion clinics in the United Kingdom
. On one occasion British newspaper The Guardian
was withdrawn by its Irish distributors for a day to preempt a threatened ban due to the inclusion of an advertisement for a UK abortion clinic in that day's issue (despite the advert having appeared on a number of prior occasions without incident).
In May 1992, the Democratic Left
T.D.
Proinsias De Rossa
subverted this ban by reading the offending telephone numbers into the Dáil record, using his absolute privilege
as a member of the Oireachtas
to avoid a lawsuit.
In the wake of the X Case, the fourteenth amendment
of the Constitution of Ireland
removed this prohibition in November 1992.
Mail
Censorship of mail
in Ireland goes back to, at least, the 1660s and possibly earlier. Both overt and covert censorship of Irish mail took place, mainly in England and sometimes using warrants
, from then through the 19th century. The Irish Civil War
saw mail raided by the IRA
marked as censored and sometimes opened. This is the first recorded such action within the new state. The National Army
also opened mail and censorship of irregulars' mail in prisons took place.
During the 1939–1945 Emergency extensive postal censorship
took place under the control of the Department of Defence
whose powers were conferred by the Emergency Powers Act 1939
. Civilian mail was controlled by the approximately 200 censors who worked in Dublin's Exchequer Street and who had all been vetted by G2
and the Gardaí
. Using the Black List
and White List to target certain mail, the small staff were unable to effect 100% censorship; however, continental European mail was all reviewed, as was all incoming and outbound airmail
. Following the overthrow of France and the Low Countries in May 1940, the British instigated full terminal mail censorship but the Irish were unable to look at more than about 10% due to the enormous staff this would have required. Covert censorship of mail between Northern Ireland and the south was effected by warrants obtained by G2, who also obtained warrants from the Minister for Justice for internal mail oversight.
The military internees, British, German and a few of other nationalities, held in the Curragh Camp
had their mail censored, even local mail, though they are known to have posted their letters outside the camp to try and evade the camp oversight. IRA internees' mail was also censored under the Offences against the State Act
that had been in place since June 1939.
The Border Campaign led to the internment of IRA members, again under the Offences against the State Act, and their mail was overtly censored between 1957 and 1960 most often with an Irish language censor mark reading Ceadaithe ag an gCinsire Mileata applied to the outside of the letter
and also to the sheets contained within. In the 1980s mail from IRA members imprisoned in Limerick and likely also Portlaoise prisons has been recorded as censored but there is no record of civilian mail censorship since 1945.
in Ireland (in the wake of the European Court of Human Rights
' decision in Norris v. Ireland
), the media was not allowed to promote it in a positive light (although this prohibition was often ignored particularly by publications such as Hot Press and In Dublin). This has since been removed, and discriminating against homosexuality is now illegal.
, they must be classified. Broadcasters usually use their discretion and obey the UK classifications and showing time restrictions. Ireland receives all of the UK music channels, which are subject to UK music video laws; with the only Irish regulated broadcaster regularly showing music videos being Channel 6 or City Channel
. However for several years TV3 Ireland
ran a late-night music programme, which quite often showed uncensored music videos containing large amounts of nudity.
References to records or songs being "banned" in Ireland refer to one or more radio stations refusing to play the songs rather than any legislative ban, although prior to 1989 it may have been a moot point given that the only legal broadcasting stations in Ireland were those operated by state broadcaster RTÉ. In the 1930s there was even a short-lived airplay ban on an entire genre of music known as the "ban on Jazz" (with an exceptionally wide definition of what constituted "jazz"). Such bans only served to further increase listenership to foreign radio stations (such as Radio Luxembourg
and the BBC) in Ireland, and lead to the growth of Irish pirate radio
.
The ban by the Irish courts of the song "They never came home" by Christy Moore
along with the original version of the album "Ordinary Man" on which it appeared has apparently never been overturned.
sold the sanitised versions of Carmageddon
which was a victim of censorship in the UK, whilst Irish owned stores sold the uncut versions imported from the United States
. Games may only be banned if the Film Censor judges that it is unfit for viewing, which has happened once to date, with the banning of Manhunt 2
on the 18 June 2007, over two weeks before its launch date of July 6.
Ireland is a member of PEGI
, but places no legal powers on its age recommendations. Retailers may attempt to enforce them at their discretion, but in the case of a protest they must sell the product to the customer.
The trademark has since changed hands and the current In Dublin magazine doesn't advertise the type of institution that could be considered a brothel.
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
rarely exercises censorship though the state retains wide-ranging laws which allow for it, including specific laws covering films, advertisements, newspapers and magazines, as well as terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
and pornography
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
. In the early years of the state, censorship was widely enforced, particularly in areas which were opposed by Catholic dogma; including abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
, sexuality
Human sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
and homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
.
Film censorship
Ireland's Film Censors Office, renamed in 2008 as the Irish Film Classification Office, heavily cut films and videos for rental release, or placed high age ratings on them. Since the release of Michael CollinsMichael Collins (film)
Michael Collins is a 1996 historical biopic written and directed by Neil Jordan and starring Liam Neeson as General Michael Collins, the Irish patriot and revolutionary who died in the Irish Civil War. It won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival....
in 1996, which was rated PG, and despite its depictions of extreme violence, the censors office has reduced age ratings in general and rarely cuts films. Ratings usually match those of the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, or are one level higher or lower. In 2000 The Cider House Rules
The Cider House Rules (film)
The Cider House Rules is a 1999 American drama film directed by Lasse Hallström, based on John Irving's novel of the same name. The film won two Academy Awards, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, along with four other nominations at the 72nd Academy Awards...
received an 18s certificate in Ireland due to its themes of abortion and incest, despite the fact that in UK the film received a 12s certificate.
Six film rating categories exist, although a film may have been re-rated by the time of its video/DVD release.
- G, into which anyone is allowed
- PG, into which anyone is allowed but parental consent is advised, and is down to the discretion of the cinema or video library
- 12A, a cinema-only certificate, which those over the age of 12 or those with parental consent may watch. Was formerly called 12PG, does not exist for video releases
- 15A, a cinema-only certificate, into which those over the age of 15 or those with parental consent may enter. Was formerly called 15PG
- 16, a cinema-only rating for content which imposes less restriction on violent content, sexual content, and drug usage. Initially very few films received this rating, although it is becoming more common. Some films rated 16 are either cut or uprated to 18 on video release
- 18, into which only those over the age of 18 may enter
Three separate categories exist for video releases, although only two are in use:
- 12RA, which cannot be supplied to anyone under the age of 12, and which has a suggestion for a "Responsible Adult" to be present if a younger person watches the film (no longer issued)
- 12, which cannot be supplied to anyone under the age of 12
- 15, which cannot be supplied to anyone under the age of 15
The G, PG and 18 certifications have the same principles on video, but some 18s films may be denied a video release certificate.
Films which are banned and do not have an appeal lodged, or which fail on appeal, have an enforcement noticed published in Iris Oifigiúil
Iris Oifigiúil
Iris Oifigiúil replaced the former Dublin Gazette on 31 January 1922 as the official newspaper of record of the Irish Free State, the state which has since become known as Ireland....
, the state's journal. The most recent enforcement notice, , appeared in the September 20, 2005 journal, and was the first of the year. Revocation notices are also published in the journal, where a film has been banned and then allowed. The DVD release of the 1978 film "I Spit on Your Grave
I Spit On Your Grave
Day of the Woman is a 1978 controversial rape revenge film. The film received a limited release, with a wider release in 1980. Prominent film critics condemned the film for its graphic violence and lengthy depictions of gang rape, and the motion picture remains controversial to this day...
" is the most recent instance of an IFCO ban.
Previously banned films
However, many films have been banned in Ireland in the past, including Monty Python's Life of BrianMonty Python's Life of Brian
Monty Python's Life of Brian, also known as Life of Brian, is a 1979 British comedy film written, directed and largely performed by the Monty Python comedy team...
, Fantasia
Fantasia (film)
Fantasia is a 1940 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and released by Walt Disney Productions. The third feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film consists of eight animated segments set to pieces of classical music conducted by Leopold Stokowski, seven of which are...
, From Dusk Till Dawn
From Dusk Till Dawn
From Dusk till Dawn is a 1996 horror film directed by Robert Rodriguez and written by Quentin Tarantino. The movie stars Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino and Juliette Lewis.-Plot:...
and A Clockwork Orange
A Clockwork Orange (film)
A Clockwork Orange is a 1971 film adaptation of Anthony Burgess's 1962 novel of the same name. It was written, directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick...
. A review in 2000 has meant that many of these have since been un-banned and rated anywhere from PG to 18. During that review process it was decided that no more films would be banned for either theatre or video release, but some bans are still in place.
The Film Censors Office's official figures state that 2,500 films received theatrical performance bans, and over 11,000 films were cut, mainly pre-1965.
The most notable recent ban was that of Boy Eats Girl
Boy Eats Girl
Boy Eats Girl is a 2005 horror film directed by Stephen Bradley and starring Samantha Mumba, produced and shot in Ireland. The plot tells of a teenage boy who comes back to life as a zombie, similar to the plot of the American film My Boyfriend's Back....
in 2005, a film starring Irish actress Samantha Mumba
Samantha Mumba
Samantha Tamania Anne Cecilia Mumba is an Irish singer and actress.Her first album was released in 2000. Her most notable role was Mara in the 2002 film The Time Machine. She has also appeared in a number of Irish independent films.-Early life, education and early career:Mumba was born in Dublin,...
, due its graphic depiction of a suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
attempt. Following an appeal, it was allowed pass uncut to a 15A rating, far from the highest possible.
Prior to the Video Recordings Act 1989 many films which were banned in the cinema were freely available on video tape to anyone in Ireland regardless of age.
Exceptions
The restrictions on "film clubs" were always far lighter than those applied to commercial cinemas. The Irish Film InstituteIrish Film Institute
The Irish Film Institute is both a film theatre and a national body that supports Irish Film heritage. It maintains an archive of Irish films and provides education in film culture. It shows independent and foreign language films overlooked by commercial multiplexes at its cinema in the Temple Bar...
specialised for decades in showing arthouse
Art film
An art film is the result of filmmaking which is typically a serious, independent film aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience...
films that were never noticeably cut. The National Film Institute (later Irish Film Institute) had originally been set up to comply with the 1939 encyclical Vigilanti Cura. At one time this gave rise to a legal anomaly where the 35 mm
35 mm film
35 mm film is the film gauge most commonly used for chemical still photography and motion pictures. The name of the gauge refers to the width of the photographic film, which consists of strips 35 millimeters in width...
prints of a particular film would to be required to have any "cuts" mandated by the Film Censors Office whereas the 16 mm
16 mm film
16 mm film refers to a popular, economical gauge of film used for motion pictures and non-theatrical film making. 16 mm refers to the width of the film...
prints were not, on the erroneous belief that all 16 mm prints were destined for private film clubs. In practice, some commercial cinemas in smaller towns as well as "travelling cinemas" (often showing films in village halls owned by the Catholic Church) were only equipped to show the 16 mm prints. The closure of virtually all of these smaller cinemas (owing to the rising popularity of television and video) has meant that nowadays the only places showing these 16 mm prints are bona fide film clubs.
Advertisements
Advertisements are regulated by the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland, and must be truthful and factually accurate. In addition, adverts for illegal services are not allowed. The ASAI is a voluntary industry body which has no statutory powers and has no power to remove a publication from circulation. This power is vested in the Censorship of Publications Board. Given the status of the ASAI some advertisers choose to continually ignore its rulings by running controversial advertisements purely to draw attention to their products and services.Newspapers and magazines
Whilst still theoretically censorable, newspapers and magazines are free to publish anything which does not break Ireland's tough libel laws. The Censorship of Publications BoardCensorship of Publications Board (Ireland)
The Censorship of Publications Board is an independent board established by the Censorship of Publications Act, 1929 to examine books and periodicals that are for sale in the Republic of Ireland. It is governed by the Censorship of Publications Acts of 1929, 1946 and 1967. The Board has the...
reviews newspapers and magazines referred to it by the Customs and Excise and by members of the public. Until the late 1980s a large number of (mainly foreign) newspaper and magazines were banned in Ireland Including Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
and the News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
, the British edition of which is still, theoretically, banned.
The listing of periodicals under permanent banning orders as of 2007 includes many publications which have ceased to be published, as well as ones which are now sold freely without any realistic chance of prosecution, such as Health and Efficiency and The Weekly News
The Weekly News
The Weekly News is a national newspaper published every Thursday by the Dundee newspaper chain D. C. Thomson. Billed as "the paper with the feelgood factor", it has been in production since 1855, and contains news and features on a broad range of subjects...
. A large proportion of the banning orders date from the 1950s or before; and a similar proportion cover true crime
True crime
True crime is a non-fiction literary and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people.The crimes most commonly include murder, but true crime works have also touched on other legal cases. Depending on the writer, true crime can adhere strictly to...
publications, a type which were once illegal due to a perceived risk of glorifying or encouraging criminal behaviour.
Poster ban for State Visits
Dublin City CouncilDublin City Council
Dublin City Council is the local authority for the city of Dublin in Ireland. It has 52 members and is the largest local authority in Ireland. Until 2001, it was known as Dublin Corporation.-Legal status:...
banned flyposting
Flyposting
Flyposting is a guerilla marketing tactic through the act of placing advertising posters or flyers in legal or illegal places. In the United States, these posters are known as bandit signs, snipe signs, or street spam. Posters are adhered to construction site barricades, building facades, in...
for six days in May 2011 for the state visit
State visit
A state visit is a formal visit by a foreign head of state to another nation, at the invitation of that nation's head of state. State visits are the highest form of diplomatic contact between two nations, and are marked by ceremonial pomp and diplomatic protocol. In parliamentary democracies, heads...
s of Elizabeth II and Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
The ban was aimed at left-wing parties, extremist republicans, fringe political and anarchist groups and environmental campaigners. In Dublin one public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
owner who erected a large poster stating that the "British Queen" was not welcome was ordered to remove it by the Irish police
Garda Síochána
, more commonly referred to as the Gardaí , is the police force of Ireland. The service is headed by the Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.- Terminology :...
, and threatened that the pub would lose its licence if he didn't comply.
Pornography
Hardcore pornographyHardcore pornography
Hardcore pornography is a form of pornography that features explicit sexual acts. The term was coined in the second half of the 20th century to distinguish it from softcore pornography. It usually takes the form of photographs, often displayed in magazines or on the Internet, or films. It can also...
, while legal in Ireland, isn't allowed to depict any acts which are illegal in the state. This also covers any participants being beneath the Irish age of consent
Age of consent
While the phrase age of consent typically does not appear in legal statutes, when used in relation to sexual activity, the age of consent is the minimum age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. The European Union calls it the legal age for sexual...
. If any of these are in a video, DVD, film, photograph or website, use and possession of them is illegal.
In the 1960s, the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
via Archbishop John Charles McQuaid
John Charles McQuaid
John Charles McQuaid, C.S.Sp. was the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland between December 1940 and February 1972.- Early life 1895-1914:...
lobbied the Irish government to have pornography banned outright.
The government-controlled IE Domain Registry
IE Domain Registry
The IE Domain Registry is the domain name registry for the .ie country code top-level domain. Formally, the IE Domain Registry Limited is a private company, limited by guarantee, incorporated in Ireland having its registered office and principal place of business in Sandycove, County Dublin...
currently has a ban on all pornography-related domain names. For example, the domains Pornography.ie and Porn.ie continue to be banned as they are considered "offensive or contrary to public policy or generally accepted principles of morality".
Central Bank of Ireland
In July 2009, the Central Bank of Ireland blocked insurers and banks from making any critical statements containing "any references" to them by means either of "public press statements" or un-approved public references, whether "written or oral."The Credit Institutions (Stabilisation) Act 2010
This Act was passed by 78-71 in December 2010 in partial response to the 2008–2010 Irish banking crisis. Section 60 provides that the Irish government may apply to the courts for an order made under the Act to be heard in private. Section 59 prohibits anyone from publishing the fact that the minister has made an order or direction under the Act; even publication that such a prohibition order has been made is also an offence under the Act. Days after the Act was passed, an order was sought by minister Brian Lenihan, JnrBrian Lenihan, Jnr
Brian Joseph Lenihan was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and barrister who served in the government of Ireland as Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform from 2007 to 2008 and as Minister for Finance from 2008 to 2011...
and approved allowing a transfer of over €3,700,000,000 into Allied Irish Bank, then an insolvent bank. Two Irish Times reporters were expelled from the court by judge Maureen Clark just before the hearing.
Blasphemy
The Irish ConstitutionConstitution of Ireland
The Constitution of Ireland is the fundamental law of the Irish state. The constitution falls broadly within the liberal democratic tradition. It establishes an independent state based on a system of representative democracy and guarantees certain fundamental rights, along with a popularly elected...
states that "The publication or utterance of blasphemous
Blasphemy
Blasphemy is irreverence towards religious or holy persons or things. Some countries have laws to punish blasphemy, while others have laws to give recourse to those who are offended by blasphemy...
, seditious, or indecent matter is an offence which shall be punishable in accordance with law”. This is currently enforced through the Defamation Act 2009, section 36. The law includes the offence of blasphemous libel
Blasphemous libel
Blasphemous libel was originally an offence under the common law of England. It is an offence under the common law of Northern Ireland. It is a statutory offence in Canada and New Zealand...
. It has yet to be enforced.
The new blasphemy law was enacted in 2009, allowing for fines of up to €25,000, simply because blasphemy was forbidden under the 1937 constitution and in the following 71 years there was no Act to enforce the provision. Scientist Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins
Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL , known as Richard Dawkins, is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author...
described the new law as "wretched, backward and uncivilised".
The text defines the crime where: he or she publishes or utters matter that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion, thereby causing outrage among a substantial number of the adherents of that religion, and (b) he or she intends, by the publication or utterance of the matter concerned, to cause such outrage.
- The judge would need to be satisfied the matter is "abusive and insulting" as distinct from opinion.
- Judicial interpretation of "held sacred" and "any religion" could render the Act unenforceable.
- A defendant's lawyer would argue the definition of "grossly", "thereby causing", "outrage" and "substantial number".
- Article s.36 (3) provides that - "it shall be a defence to proceedings for an offence under this section for the defendant to prove that a reasonable person would find genuine literary, artistic, political, scientific, or academic value in the matter to which the offence relates.
- Further, a "religion" is further defined in s.36 (4); it - does not include an organisation or cult— (a) the principal object of which is the making of profit, or (b) that employs oppressive psychological manipulationPsychological manipulationPsychological manipulation is a type of social influence that aims to change the perception or behavior of others through underhanded, deceptive, or even abusive tactics. By advancing the interests of the manipulator, often at the other's expense, such methods could be considered exploitative,...
— (i) of its followers, or (ii) for the purpose of gaining new followers. - s.36 could be held to be in breach of 44.2.1º of the Constitution The State shall not impose any disabilities or make any discrimination on the ground of religious profession, belief or status."
Censorship of books
In 1926 the new Irish Free StateIrish Free State
The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
established a Committee on Evil Literature
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....
that banned certain books and periodicals, even including Vogue magazine. Due to the Roman Catholic ethos of the state it was largely modelled upon the policies of the Vatican
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:*Holy See, the central governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized by international law, consisting of the Pope and the Roman Curia...
's Index Librorum Prohibitorum
Index Librorum Prohibitorum
The Index Librorum Prohibitorum was a list of publications prohibited by the Catholic Church. A first version was promulgated by Pope Paul IV in 1559, and a revised and somewhat relaxed form was authorized at the Council of Trent...
.
An Act of 1929 established the Censorship of Publications Board
Censorship of Publications Board (Ireland)
The Censorship of Publications Board is an independent board established by the Censorship of Publications Act, 1929 to examine books and periodicals that are for sale in the Republic of Ireland. It is governed by the Censorship of Publications Acts of 1929, 1946 and 1967. The Board has the...
. 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
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
. Ireland's culture at the time was very moral and religious. Catholicism—the religion of 93% of the population—was the fundamental philosophy behind the censorship laws. President
President of Ireland
The President of Ireland is the head of state of Ireland. The President is usually directly elected by the people for seven years, and can be elected for a maximum of two terms. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office, but the President does exercise certain limited powers with absolute...
Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera was one of the dominant political figures in twentieth century Ireland, serving as head of government of the Irish Free State and head of government and head of state of Ireland...
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
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....
by Aldous Huxley
Aldous Huxley
Aldous Leonard Huxley was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. Best known for his novels including Brave New World and a wide-ranging output of essays, Huxley also edited the magazine Oxford Poetry, and published short stories, poetry, travel...
, The Well of Loneliness
The Well of Loneliness
The Well of Loneliness is a 1928 lesbian novel by the British author Radclyffe Hall. It follows the life of Stephen Gordon, an Englishwoman from an upper-class family whose "sexual inversion" is apparent from an early age...
by Radclyffe Hall
Radclyffe Hall
Radclyffe Hall was an English poet and author, best known for the lesbian classic The Well of Loneliness.- Life :...
and several books on sex and marriage by Margaret Sanger
Margaret Sanger
Margaret Higgins Sanger was an American sex educator, nurse, and birth control activist. Sanger coined the term birth control, opened the first birth control clinic in the United States, and established Planned Parenthood...
and Marie Stopes
Marie Stopes
Marie Carmichael Stopes was a British author, palaeobotanist, campaigner for women's rights and pioneer in the field of birth control...
. 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
Iris Oifigiúil replaced the former Dublin Gazette on 31 January 1922 as the official newspaper of record of the Irish Free State, the state which has since become known as Ireland....
, and the list, or a selection, was usually published in the Irish Times. Among Irish books or authors whose book(s) were banned were Liam O'Flaherty
Liam O'Flaherty
Liam O'Flaherty was a significant Irish novelist and short story writer and a major figure in the Irish literary renaissance, born August 28, 1896, died September 7, 1984.-Biography:...
(1930), Seán Ó Faoláin
Seán Ó Faoláin
Seán Proinsias Ó Faoláin was an Irish short story writer. He was elected Saoi of Aosdána in 1986.Born as John Francis Whelan in Cork City, County Cork, Ireland, Sean Ó Faoláin wrote his first stories in the 1920s. Through 90 stories, written over a period of 60 years, Ó Faoláin charts the...
(1932), Francis Stuart
Francis Stuart
Henry Francis Montgomery Stuart was an Irish writer. His novels have been described as having a thrusting modernist iconoclasm. Awarded the highest artistic accolade in Ireland before his death in 2000, his unwillingness to take a clear moral stance with regard to his years spent in Nazi...
(1939), Oliver St. John Gogarty
Oliver St. John Gogarty
Oliver Joseph St John Gogarty was an Irish poet, author, otolaryngologist, athlete, politician, and well-known conversationalist, who served as the inspiration for Buck Mulligan in James Joyce's novel Ulysses....
(1942), The Tailor and Ansty
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 Buckley...
by Eric Cross
Eric Cross (writer)
Eric Cross was an Irish writer born in Newry, County Down, Ireland.In 1942, he published The Tailor and Ansty, in The Bell, a collection of stories and sayings from an old country tailor called Timothy Buckley and his wife Anastasia that Cross had recorded, with a foreword by Frank O'Connor...
(1942), The Gadfly
The Gadfly
The Gadfly is a novel by Ethel Lilian Voynich, published in 1897 , set in 1840s Italy under the dominance of Austria, a time of tumultuous revolt and uprisings. The story centers on the life of the protagonist, Arthur Burton, as a member of the Youth movement, and his antagonist, Padre Montanelli...
by Ethel Lilian Voynich
Ethel Lilian Voynich
Ethel Lilian Voynich, née Boole was a British novelist and musician, and a supporter of several revolutionary causes. She was born in Cork. Her father was the mathematician George Boole. Her mother was feminist philosopher Mary Everest, niece of George Everest and an author for the...
(1947), Maura Laverty
Maura Laverty
Maura Laverty was an author, journalist and broadcaster known for her work on Irish soap opera Tolka Row. She published several novels, short stories and critical pieces throughout her career....
(1948), Walter Macken
Walter Macken
Walter Macken , was born in Galway, Ireland. He was a writer of short stories, novels and plays. Originally an actor, principally with the Taibhdhearc in Galway, and The Abbey Theatre, he played lead roles on Broadway in M.J. Molloy's The King of Friday's Men and his own play Home Is the Hero...
(1948), Frank O'Connor
Frank O'Connor
Frank O’Connor was an Irish author of over 150 works, best known for his short stories and memoirs.-Early life:...
(1951), Sam Hanna Bell (1952), Brian Cleeve
Brian Cleeve
Brian Brendon Talbot Cleeve was a prolific 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 father and English mother, he was born and raised in England...
(1952), Benedict Kiely
Benedict Kiely
Benedict "Ben" Kiely was an Irish author and broadcaster from Omagh, County Tyrone, Ireland.-Early life:Benedict Kiely was born in Dromore, County Tyrone to Thomas John and Sara Alice Kiely. He was the youngest of six children, the others were Rita, Gerald, Eileen, Kathleen and Macartan; four of...
(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 Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
's 'Ulysses
Ulysses (novel)
Ulysses is a novel by the Irish author James Joyce. It was first serialised in parts in the American journal The Little Review from March 1918 to December 1920, and then published in its entirety by Sylvia Beach on 2 February 1922, in Paris. One of the most important works of Modernist literature,...
' 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: "[The Senator quoted from the book.]".
Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
's controversial book Sex
Sex (book)
Sex is a coffee table book written by Madonna with photographs by Steven Meisel Studio and film frames taken from film shot by Fabien Baron. The book was edited by Glenn O'Brien. Sex was released on October 21, 1992 by Warner Books...
was banned several weeks after its release in 1992 but unbanned in 2004, due to the 12 year limitation on initial banning orders.
Books containing references to terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
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
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
due to its content. However, importing this book and its sale second-hand are 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
Leaving Certificate
The Leaving Certificate Examinations , commonly referred to as the Leaving Cert is the final examination in the Irish secondary school system. It takes a minimum of two years preparation, but an optional Transition Year means that for those students it takes place three years after the Junior...
syllabus, e.g., Salinger's Catcher in the Rye (banned in October 1951).
In 2010 it was announced that, as the last book had been banned in 1998, no books were censored in Ireland any more as the 12-year limitation had run out on all existing bans.
The Troubles
During the TroublesThe Troubles
The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...
in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
censorship was used to prevent Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
and IRA
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
members from having access to the media. Under Section 31 of the Broadcasting Authority Act, it was forbidden to broadcast the voice of Sinn Féin members. This rule was brought in by Fianna Fáil Minister for Posts & Telegraphs
Minister for Posts and Telegraphs (Ireland)
The Minister for Posts and Telegraphs was a senior post in the government of the Irish Free State and the Republic of Ireland from 1924 to 1984, when the post and the department was abolished....
Gerry Collins in 1971 and strengthened by Labour's Conor Cruise O'Brien
Conor Cruise O'Brien
Conor Cruise O'Brien often nicknamed "The Cruiser", was an Irish politician, writer, historian and academic. Although his opinion on the role of Britain in Northern Ireland changed over the course of the 1970s and 1980s, he always acknowledge values of, as he saw, the two irreconcilable traditions...
in 1977.
Conor Cruise O'Brien
Conor Cruise O'Brien
Conor Cruise O'Brien often nicknamed "The Cruiser", was an Irish politician, writer, historian and academic. Although his opinion on the role of Britain in Northern Ireland changed over the course of the 1970s and 1980s, he always acknowledge values of, as he saw, the two irreconcilable traditions...
tried Section 31 to censor coverage of the troubles in the North of Ireland, which could have been seen as pro-nationalist, in papers such as The Irish Press
The Irish Press
The Irish Press was an Irish national daily newspaper published by Irish Press plc between 5 September 1931 and 25 May 1995.-Foundation:...
the editor Tim Pat Coogan
Tim Pat Coogan
Timothy Patrick Coogan is an Irish historical writer, broadcaster and newspaper columnist. He served as editor of the Irish Press newspaper from 1968 to 1987...
published editorials attacking the Bill.
The Fine Gael
Fine Gael
Fine Gael is a centre-right to centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland. It is the single largest party in Ireland in the Oireachtas, in local government, and in terms of Members of the European Parliament. The party has a membership of over 35,000...
/Labour Coalition Government tried to prosecute the Irish Press for its coverage of the maltreatment of republican prisoners by the Garda Heavy Gang, with the paper winning the case. the then government also prosecuted the publishers of The Hibernia magazine.
The United Kingdom operated a similar rule between 1988 and 1994, although British broadcasters subverted this censorship by dubbing Sinn Féin speeches and interviews, with an actor's voice repeating the speech word-for-word. This was not possible in Ireland as the Government maintained the broadcasting ban did not allow word for word broadcast of a speech etc. and had sacked the entire Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Raidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...
(RTÉ) authority in 1971 and jailed RTÉ's Kevin O Kelly when he interviewed IRA chief of staff Sean Mac Stiofain but did not say he was the voice on a taped interview.
However RTÉ even refused to broadcast Sinn Féin members when they were talking about matters completely unrelated to the Northern Troubles. For example, Sinn Féin member Larry O'Toole was not permitted to appear on RTÉ to talk about a trade union dispute he was involved in. Instead, clips of the speaker talking were shown, along with a brief summary of what was being said. The High Court later found that this exclusion was not justified under Section 31.
In 1991, European Commission of Human Rights
European Commission of Human Rights
European Commission of Human Rights was a special tribunal.From 1954 to the entry into force of Protocol 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, individuals did not have direct access to the European Court of Human Rights; they had to apply to the Commission, which if it found the case to be...
upheld the ban in case Purcell v. Ireland, though not unanimously. The Section 31 broadcasting ban was lifted in 1993 by Minister for Arts, Culture & the Gaeltacht Michael D. Higgins
Michael D. Higgins
Michael Daniel Higgins is the ninth and current President of Ireland, having taken office on 11 November 2011 following victory in the 2011 Irish presidential election. Higgins is an Irish politician, poet, sociologist, author and broadcaster. Higgins was President of the Labour Party until his...
as part of the Northern Ireland peace process
Northern Ireland peace process
The peace process, when discussing the history of Northern Ireland, is often considered to cover the events leading up to the 1994 Provisional Irish Republican Army ceasefire, the end of most of the violence of the Troubles, the Belfast Agreement, and subsequent political developments.-Towards a...
.
Abortion and birth control
Until the early 1990s, promotion of abortion in any way, including providing impartial information, was disallowed, and any publications providing information on it would be confiscated. Copies of Marie ClaireMarie Claire
Marie Claire is a monthly women's magazine first published in France but also distributed in other countries with editions specific to them and in their languages. While each country shares its own special voice with its audience, the United States edition focuses on women around the world and...
and Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan (magazine)
Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...
women's magazines sold in the Republic were specially printed with blank pages instead of advertisements for abortion clinics. In the 1980s, the Irish Family Planning Association and the Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin
University College Dublin
University College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...
students' union
Students' union
A students' union, student government, student senate, students' association, guild of students or government of student body is a student organization present in many colleges and universities, and has started appearing in some high schools...
s were successfully sued by the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children for publishing telephone numbers for abortion clinics in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. On one occasion British newspaper The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
was withdrawn by its Irish distributors for a day to preempt a threatened ban due to the inclusion of an advertisement for a UK abortion clinic in that day's issue (despite the advert having appeared on a number of prior occasions without incident).
In May 1992, the Democratic Left
Democratic Left (Ireland)
Democratic Left was a democratic socialist political party active in Ireland between 1992 and 1999. It came into being after a split in the Workers' Party and, after just seven years in existence, it merged into the Irish Labour Party.-Origins:...
T.D.
Teachta Dála
A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...
Proinsias De Rossa
Proinsias De Rossa
Proinsias De Rossa is an Irish Labour Party politician and Member of the European Parliament for the Dublin constituency. He a former President of the Workers' Party and subsequently leader of Democratic Left, and later, a senior member of the Labour Party. He was Minister for Social Welfare from...
subverted this ban by reading the offending telephone numbers into the Dáil record, using his absolute privilege
Parliamentary privilege
Parliamentary privilege is a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made related to one's duties as a legislator. It is common in countries whose constitutions are...
as a member of the Oireachtas
Oireachtas
The Oireachtas , sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the "national parliament" or legislature of Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of:*The President of Ireland*The two Houses of the Oireachtas :**Dáil Éireann...
to avoid a lawsuit.
In the wake of the X Case, the fourteenth amendment
Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland
The Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland specified that the prohibition of abortion would not limit the right to distribute information about abortion services in foreign countries...
of the Constitution of Ireland
Constitution of Ireland
The Constitution of Ireland is the fundamental law of the Irish state. The constitution falls broadly within the liberal democratic tradition. It establishes an independent state based on a system of representative democracy and guarantees certain fundamental rights, along with a popularly elected...
removed this prohibition in November 1992.
Mail
Mail, or post, is a system for transporting letters and other tangible objects: written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal service...
in Ireland goes back to, at least, the 1660s and possibly earlier. Both overt and covert censorship of Irish mail took place, mainly in England and sometimes using warrants
Warrant (law)
Most often, the term warrant refers to a specific type of authorization; a writ issued by a competent officer, usually a judge or magistrate, which permits an otherwise illegal act that would violate individual rights and affords the person executing the writ protection from damages if the act is...
, from then through the 19th century. The Irish Civil War
Irish Civil War
The Irish Civil War was a conflict that accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State as an entity independent from the United Kingdom within the British Empire....
saw mail raided by the IRA
Irish Republican Army (1922–1969)
The original Irish Republican Army fought a guerrilla war against British rule in Ireland in the Irish War of Independence 1919–1921. Following the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty on 6 December 1921, the IRA in the 26 counties that were to become the Irish Free State split between supporters and...
marked as censored and sometimes opened. This is the first recorded such action within the new state. The National Army
Irish Defence Forces
The armed forces of Ireland, known as the Defence Forces encompass the Army, Naval Service, Air Corps and Reserve Defence Force.The current Supreme Commander of the Irish Defence forces is His Excellency Michael D Higgins in his role as President of Ireland...
also opened mail and censorship of irregulars' mail in prisons took place.
During the 1939–1945 Emergency extensive postal censorship
Postal censorship
Postal censorship is the inspection or examination of mail, most often by governments. It can include opening, reading and total or selective obliteration of letters and their contents, as well as covers, postcards, parcels and other postal packets. Postal censorship takes place primarily but not...
took place under the control of the Department of Defence
Department of Defence (Ireland)
The Department of Defence is the department of the Government of Ireland that is responsible for preserving peace and security in Ireland and abroad...
whose powers were conferred by the Emergency Powers Act 1939
Emergency Powers Act 1939
The Emergency Powers Act 1939 is an act of the Oireachtas enacted on 3 September 1939 after an official state of emergency had been declared on 2 September 1939...
. Civilian mail was controlled by the approximately 200 censors who worked in Dublin's Exchequer Street and who had all been vetted by G2
G2 (Republic of Ireland)
G2 or G-2 is the national intelligence agency of Ireland. It is the military intelligence branch of the Irish Defence Forces, and also helps protect Ireland's national security. G2 is used in several western and NATO forces to refer to the Intelligence and Security branch of the staff function...
and the Gardaí
Garda Síochána
, more commonly referred to as the Gardaí , is the police force of Ireland. The service is headed by the Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.- Terminology :...
. Using the Black List
Blacklist
A blacklist is a list or register of entities who, for one reason or another, are being denied a particular privilege, service, mobility, access or recognition. As a verb, to blacklist can mean to deny someone work in a particular field, or to ostracize a person from a certain social circle...
and White List to target certain mail, the small staff were unable to effect 100% censorship; however, continental European mail was all reviewed, as was all incoming and outbound airmail
Airmail
Airmail is mail that is transported by aircraft. It typically arrives more quickly than surface mail, and usually costs more to send...
. Following the overthrow of France and the Low Countries in May 1940, the British instigated full terminal mail censorship but the Irish were unable to look at more than about 10% due to the enormous staff this would have required. Covert censorship of mail between Northern Ireland and the south was effected by warrants obtained by G2, who also obtained warrants from the Minister for Justice for internal mail oversight.
The military internees, British, German and a few of other nationalities, held in the Curragh Camp
Curragh Camp
The Curragh Camp is an army base and military college located in The Curragh, County Kildare, Ireland. It is the main training centre for the Irish Army.- Brief history of the Curragh's military heritage :...
had their mail censored, even local mail, though they are known to have posted their letters outside the camp to try and evade the camp oversight. IRA internees' mail was also censored under the Offences against the State Act
Offences against the State Acts 1939-1998
The Offences Against the State Acts 1939–1998 form a series of laws passed by the Irish Parliament relating to the suppression of terrorism.-Offences under the Act:The Act criminalises many actions detrimental to state security...
that had been in place since June 1939.
The Border Campaign led to the internment of IRA members, again under the Offences against the State Act, and their mail was overtly censored between 1957 and 1960 most often with an Irish language censor mark reading Ceadaithe ag an gCinsire Mileata applied to the outside of the letter
Cover (philately)
In philately, the term cover pertains to the outside of an envelope or package with an address, typically with postage stamps that have been cancelled and is a term generally used among stamp and postal history collectors. The term does not include the contents of the letter or package, although...
and also to the sheets contained within. In the 1980s mail from IRA members imprisoned in Limerick and likely also Portlaoise prisons has been recorded as censored but there is no record of civilian mail censorship since 1945.
Homosexuality
Prior to the legalisation of homosexualityHomosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
in Ireland (in the wake of the European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
' decision in Norris v. Ireland
Norris v. Ireland
Norris v. Ireland was a 1988 case decided by the European Court of Human Rights. The case was brought against the Republic of Ireland by Senator David Norris, and his Senior Counsel was fellow member of the Campaign for Homosexual Law Reform, Mary Robinson, who later became the first female...
), the media was not allowed to promote it in a positive light (although this prohibition was often ignored particularly by publications such as Hot Press and In Dublin). This has since been removed, and discriminating against homosexuality is now illegal.
Music
Music videos are exempt from film classification, whereas in the UKUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, they must be classified. Broadcasters usually use their discretion and obey the UK classifications and showing time restrictions. Ireland receives all of the UK music channels, which are subject to UK music video laws; with the only Irish regulated broadcaster regularly showing music videos being Channel 6 or City Channel
City Channel
City Channel was an Irish television network that began broadcasting in October 2005, which focused primarily on local and regional television. It operated three stations: City Channel Dublin, City Channel Galway, and Channel South.-Launch:...
. However for several years TV3 Ireland
TV3 Ireland
TV3 is a free-to-air commercial television network in the Republic of Ireland. Launched on 20 September 1998 it was Ireland's first commercial broadcaster. The channel is owned by TV3 Group a subsidiary of Doughty Hanson & Co.-The TV3 Group:...
ran a late-night music programme, which quite often showed uncensored music videos containing large amounts of nudity.
References to records or songs being "banned" in Ireland refer to one or more radio stations refusing to play the songs rather than any legislative ban, although prior to 1989 it may have been a moot point given that the only legal broadcasting stations in Ireland were those operated by state broadcaster RTÉ. In the 1930s there was even a short-lived airplay ban on an entire genre of music known as the "ban on Jazz" (with an exceptionally wide definition of what constituted "jazz"). Such bans only served to further increase listenership to foreign radio stations (such as Radio Luxembourg
Radio Luxembourg (English)
Radio Luxembourg is a commercial broadcaster in many languages from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is nowadays known in most non-English languages as RTL ....
and the BBC) in Ireland, and lead to the growth of Irish pirate radio
Irish pirate radio
Pirate radio in Ireland has had a long history, with hundreds of radio stations having operated from within the country. Due to past lax enforcement of the rules, the lack of commercial radio until 1989, and the small physical size of the country, pirate radio has proliferated up to recent years...
.
The ban by the Irish courts of the song "They never came home" by Christy Moore
Christy Moore
Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore is a popular Irish folk singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is well known as one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts...
along with the original version of the album "Ordinary Man" on which it appeared has apparently never been overturned.
Computer games
Unlike most other countries, the Film Censors Office have little involvement in video game censorship. This led to an unusual situation where in the 1990s the UK-owned GAMEGAME (retailer)
The Game Group plc is a British video games retail company. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index....
sold the sanitised versions of Carmageddon
Carmageddon
Carmageddon is the first of a series of graphically violent vehicular combat video games produced by Stainless Games, published by Interplay and SCi...
which was a victim of censorship in the UK, whilst Irish owned stores sold the uncut versions imported from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Games may only be banned if the Film Censor judges that it is unfit for viewing, which has happened once to date, with the banning of Manhunt 2
Manhunt 2
Manhunt 2 is an action/adventure video game developed by Rockstar Games and the sequel to 2003's Manhunt. The game was released in North America for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and Wii on October 29, 2007....
on the 18 June 2007, over two weeks before its launch date of July 6.
Ireland is a member of PEGI
Pan European Game Information
Pan European Game Information is a European video game content rating system established to help European parents make informed decisions on buying computer games with logos on games boxes. It was developed by the Interactive Software Federation of Europe and came into use in April 2003; it...
, but places no legal powers on its age recommendations. Retailers may attempt to enforce them at their discretion, but in the case of a protest they must sell the product to the customer.
Development of Irish statutes
- The Censorship of Films Act, 1923 was an act "to provide for the official censoring of cinematographic pictures and for other matters connected therewith". It established the office of the Official Censor of Films and a Censorship of Films Appeal Board (and see William MagennisWilliam MagennisWilliam Magennis was an Irish politician and university professor. Born in Belfast, he was educated at Belvedere College, Dublin, and University College Dublin. In 1893 he was called to the Bar...
). It was amended by the Censorship of Films (Amendment) Act, 1925, in connection with advertisements for films. It was amended by the Censorship of Films (Amendment) Act, 1930 to extend the legislation to "vocal or other sounds" accompanying pictures. - The Committee on Evil LiteratureCommittee on Evil LiteratureThe 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....
was appointed in 1926 to report on the effectiveness of the censorship laws. It concluded that the then-current censorship laws were inadequate, and that the government had a duty to ban "morally corrupting" literature. - The Censorship of Publications Act, 1929 was an act "to make provision for the prohibition of the sale and distribution of unwholesome literature and for that purpose to provide for the establishment of a censorship of books and periodical publications, and to restrict the publication of reports of certain classes of judicial proceedings and for other purposes incidental to the matters aforesaid". It established the Censorship of Publications Board. A book caught by the act was one that "in its general tendency indecent or obscene ... or ... advocates the unnatural prevention of conception or the procurement of abortion or miscarriage or the use of any method, treatment or appliance for the purpose of such prevention or such miscarriage".
- The Emergency Powers Act 1939Emergency Powers Act 1939The Emergency Powers Act 1939 is an act of the Oireachtas enacted on 3 September 1939 after an official state of emergency had been declared on 2 September 1939...
dealt with the preservation of the State in time of war and contained provisions relating to the censorship of communications, including mailPostal censorshipPostal censorship is the inspection or examination of mail, most often by governments. It can include opening, reading and total or selective obliteration of letters and their contents, as well as covers, postcards, parcels and other postal packets. Postal censorship takes place primarily but not...
, newspapers and periodicals. - On 18 November 1942 Senator Sir John Keane moved in the Irish Senate (Seanad ÉireannSeanad ÉireannSeanad Éireann is the upper house of the Oireachtas , which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann . It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its members Senators or Seanadóirí . Unlike Dáil Éireann, it is not directly elected but consists of a mixture of members chosen by...
): "That, in the opinion of Seanad Éireann, the Censorship of Publications Board appointed by the Minister for Justice under the Censorship of Publications Act, 1929, has ceased to retain public confidence, and that steps should be taken by the Minister to reconstitute the board.". After four days of debate, the motion was roundly defeated: Tá (for) 2 votes - Sir John Keane and Joseph Johnston - Níl (against) 34 votes. - The Censorship of Publications Act, 1946 repealed a large part of the 1929 act and was "to make further and better provision for the censorship of books and periodical publications". Periodicals caught by the act included issues that "have devoted an unduly large proportion of space to the publication of matter relating to crime".
- The Censorship of Publications Act, 1967 provided for prohibition orders made on the grounds of indecency or obscenity to expire after a period of twelve years. A further prohibition order could then be made by the Censorship of Publications Board in respect of the same book.
- The Health (Family Planning) Act, 1979 deleted references to "the unnatural prevention of conception" in the Censorship of Publications Act, 1929 and the Censorship of Publications Act, 1946.
- The Regulation of Information (Services Outside the State for Termination of Pregnancies) Act, 1995 modified the effect of the Censorship of Publications Acts, 1929 to 1967 in respect of certain information likely to be required by a woman to avail herself of "services provided outside the State for the termination of pregnancies". However, the information in question must not advocate or promote the termination of pregnancy.
- The Defamation Act, 2009 which forbids blasphemy (with intent) at s.36.
In Dublin magazine
In the 1980s and 1990s, an indigenous Irish equivalent of the internationally available Time Out magazine called In Dublin existed. The magazine was renowned for its advertisements for Massage Parlours and Bathhouses. When it was finally proven in 1999 that the advertisements were for prostitution services, the magazine was forcibly withdrawn from circulation for six months and ceased to exist. Although a short lived replacement called "Dublin" appeared which was a remarkably similar in every respect (i.e. cover design was almost identical, it was published by the same company and employed the same editorial and journalistic staff).The trademark has since changed hands and the current In Dublin magazine doesn't advertise the type of institution that could be considered a brothel.
External links
- Irish Film Classification Office website
- http://www.acts.ie/plweb-cgi/fastweb?query1=&query2=&query3=&query=Censorship&numresults=50&query4=&query5=&query6=&query7=&sorting=none&TemplateName=prehit.tmpl&view=s0052_english_view&dbname=s0052_english&query_rule=%28%28%28%24query4%29.le.actyear.le.%28%24query5%29%29%20AND%20%28%28%24query6%29%29%3Aactno%20AND%20%28%28%24query7%29%29%3Asectionnumber%20AND%20%28%28%24query1%29%29%3Alongtitle%20AND%20%28%28%24query2%29%29%3Ashorttitle%20AND%20%28%28%24query3%29%29%3Asidehead%20AND%20%28%28%24query%29%29%29&operator=andIrish statutes referring to 'censorship']
- Censorship in Ireland - from the International Freedom of Expression ExchangeInternational Freedom of Expression ExchangeThe International Freedom of Expression eXchange , founded in 1992, is a global network of around 90 non-governmental organisations that promotes and defends the right to freedom of expression....
- Censorship of publications in Ireland — from the official Irish government information website
- List of prohibited publications in Ireland between 1993 and 2003 — PDF document from the Irish Department of Justice
- Tales out of school — Irish author John McGahernJohn McGahernJohn McGahern was one of the most important Irish authors of the latter half of the twentieth century. Before his death in 2006 he was hailed as "the greatest living Irish novelist" by The Observer.-Life:...
's experience with the Irish censorship system - Sunday Times article on Irish Censor's office