A tour of the maze of committees that controlled who read what in Irish public libraries. Public libraries were one of the most important sources of reading material for ordinary people.
S7 E10 Morally healthy: censure in libraries
S7 E9 Indecent Images: Harry Clarke and Georges Rouault
Both these artists were renowned for their religious subject matter but they still offended important people.
S7 E8 Hero Worship: Roger Casement Part 2
Everyone wanted a piece of Roger Casement, but which piece? Carefully extracting his skeleton from heavy London mud in 1965 didn’t end the controversy over his life and lusts.
S7 E7 Roger Casement’s Diaries Part 1
The scandal over Roer Casement’s diaries is huge. It’s past time I read the smut and examined the censure of the man and his writings.
S7 E6 Furious: O’Flaherty ‘The Martyr’ (1933)
Liam O’Flaherty was the angriest Irish author of his generation, raging against ‘soutaned witch-doctors’ (Catholic priests). With guest, Teresa Dunne
S7 E5 Contraband: The Bell Magazine (1940-51)
This vibrant intellectual magazine was never censored, even though it’s editor was an anti-censorship campaigner. But getting a copy wasn’t that easy. With guest Dr Phyllis Boumans
S7 E4 Burning the diabolical ‘News of the World’
The real truth about post-independence Ireland is that everyone was reading the British sleazy tabloid, the News of the World. Some people were determined to stop that.
S7 E3 Boycott: McNamara ‘The Valley of the Squinting Windows’ (1913)
A novel famous for the furious reaction it provoked in the people of Delvin, Co Westmeath. But how do boycotts work and why are they so terrifying?
S7 E1 & 2 Riotous: The Playboy of the Western World (1907)
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 out the actors. This much-studied moment in Irish cultural history deserves a deep-dive into the play itself and the over-reaction to its performance.
With guest, Dr Lloyd (Maedhbh) Houston, I discussed the play and the uproar it caused, paying particular attention to drunken singing and the comedy act of one protestor, Mr Overcoat.
S6 E9 Throbbing: Hull ‘The Sheik’ (1919)
A thrilling desert romance that’s drenched in sex but wasn’t banned in Ireland. Great for the smut seekers, but terrible for anyone who didn’t appreciate a racist rape fantasy.
