Irish film censorship

A cultural journey from silent cinema to internet pornography

Kevin Rockett

'I cannot recommend this book highly enough. With extensive index, footnotes, bibliography, tables of comparison and photographs, the book is a must for every film enthusiast, and indeed for anyone with even the vaguest interest in Ireland and the Irish', Eamonn Kelly, Books Ireland.

'A fascinating new history... the most thorough investigation of Irish film censorship ever published', Irish Independent.

'Kevin Rockett's magisterial new book ... relates the often sorry, sometimes hilarious, sometimes revealing history of the relationship between the Irish State and cinema', Hugh Linehan, Irish Times.

'Essential. All film collections, all levels', Choice.

'A monumental work of scholarship... a book that moves into the contemporary with ease. It's going to make life so much easier for those carrying out research on the social background of film censorship', Michael D. Higgins, TD, launching the book, 27 October 2004.

‘An exhaustive study of the subject it undertakes to engage with, as well as an enjoyable read, and it will surely stand as the definitive history of Irish film censorship for years to come', Irish University Review.

‘For the first time, the attitude of Irish censors to films from 1923 to 2003 is chronicled. Based on the records of the Office of the Film Censor that were recently deposited in the National Archives, this book is a remarkable achievement …. accessible, often hilarious and sensitive both to international context and the nature of film. The index by film title will ensure coffee-table status for a book that will appeal to film buffs and academics alike. The jacket blurb proclaims, somewhat justifiably, that it “is unlikely ever to be surpassed”', Aoife Bhreatnach, Irish Historical Studies.

‘Irish Film Censorship is definitive. Not only does Rockett provide the first in-depth study of film censorship in Ireland, he also sets the groundwork for an interdisciplinary methodology to examine censorship as a theory and a practice. This book deserves a prominent place on the shelf of anyone who is interested in censorship, film, and the interactions between state and culture that define national identity’, Brad Kent, Canadian Journal of Film Studies.

'Irish Film Censorship is a triumph of assiduous scholarly research', Martin McLoone, Cineaste.