Furious: O'Flaherty 'The Martyr' (1933)
Liam O’Flaherty was the angriest Irish author of his generation who raged against ‘soutaned witch-doctors’ (Catholic priests). He believed his outspokenness provoked social censure so severe that his ...
7 Huhti 202235min
Contrabrand: The Bell Magazine (1940-54)
Although The Bell published fiction and factual pieces on topics the censors hated, such as single motherhood or gay desire, it was never banned. Unfortunately, only a determined few read a magazine t...
24 Maalis 202239min
Burning the diabolical 'News of the World'
In this episode we meet the Angelic Warfare Association, whose newspaper burning caused a stir in 1926 and 1927. Emulating protest burnings of previous decades, these young men targeted a British Sund...
10 Maalis 202225min
Boycott: McNamara 'The Valley of the Squinting Windows' (1918)
Like many authors Brinsley McNamara wrote about the people of his homeplace. When his satirical vision shocked and offended his neighbours, they instigated a long boycott of the author’s family. A gri...
24 Helmi 202229min
Riotous: The Playboy of the Western World (1907) Part 2
After debating the play in part 1, myself and Dr Lloyd (Maedhbh) Houston move onto the riots. It’s a wild ride, from the grumblings on opening night to the full-throated disorder of the following week...
17 Helmi 202238min
Riotous: The Playboy of the Western World (1907) Part 1
The Playboy Riots were a notoriously rowdy series of audience protests in the Abbey Theatre. The patrons were so offended by The Playboy of the Western World their loud singing and heckling drowned ou...
10 Helmi 202242min
Rage: O'Brien 'Girls in their Married Bliss' (1964)
It is no mystery why this novel was banned: the previous two novels in The Country Girls trilogy were also blacklisted. But in this short, punchy novel, O’Brien attacked many sacred cows. No Irish to...
20 Tammi 202231min
Throbbing: Hull 'The Sheik' (1919)
How did a desert romance saturated with sex escape the censor’s attention? The novel, and later the film, were cultural phenomena: more than one cocktail recipe paid homage to The Sheik. It is interes...
6 Tammi 202237min
