Book censorship in the Republic of Ireland

Book censorship was carried out in Ireland from 1929 until 2010 when all prior bans expired. Censorship was enacted by a 1929 act of the Irish Free State.

Following the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922 a Committee on Evil Literature was appointed in 1926, reporting to the Department of Justice. The Censorship of Publications Acts of 1929 followed, and 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 strictly religious. Catholicism—the religion of 93% of the population—was the fundamental philosophy behind the censorship laws. In 1933, 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).

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