After independence in 1922 the authorities of the Irish Free State come under increasing pressure to ban materials considered obscene or liable to corrupt public morals. In October 1925 the Minister for Justice, Kevin O'Higgins, told the Dáil Éireann that existing obscenity laws were sufficient and the government had no right to further interfere with people's personal freedom. He came in for heavy criticism for these remarks and mounting public pressure persuaded him, on 12 February 1926, to appoint a departmental committee, the Committee on Evil Literature, to consider and report "whether it is necessary or advisable in the interest of the public morality to extend the existing powers of the State to prohibit or restrict the sale and circulation of printed matter".
The committee of three laymen and two clergymen, one Roman Catholic and one Church of Ireland, met at 24 Kildare Street, Dublin, between February and December 1926 to hear and consider submissions from a variety of sources, including the Garda, secular and religious organisations and members of the public, and reported to O'Higgins on 28 December. Its findings were that existing laws were inadequate to deal with obscene material and that the state had a duty to enforce controls on the production and distribution of obscene and "morally corrupting" literature. It also recommended the establishment of a censorship board.
The opinions of the committee and those who submitted evidence to it on what should be banned were somewhat wide. Publications that the Roman Catholic Church considered to be obscene included the newspapers News of the World, The People, Sunday Chronicle and Daily Mail, and the magazines Vogue, Woman's Weekly, Woman's World, Illustrated Police News and most girls' picture papers. The objection to the more populist newspapers appears to have been that their detailed reporting of murders and other violent crimes depraved the readers. All birth control literature was also considered to be obscene. Other examples of 'obscene' literature submitted to the committee ranged from photographs of dancers to advertisements for depilatory cream.
External links
National Archives of Ireland: "Ferreting out Evil. The Records of the Committee on Evil Literature" (http://www.nationalarchives.ie/topics/evil_lit/article.htm)
Committee on Evil Literature database (http://www.nationalarchives.ie/cgi-bin/naigenform02?index=Dept+of+Justice+-+JUS/7)
The declaration was written by a committee made up of Franklin, Jefferson, John Adams, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston, though Jefferson was ultimately responsible for most of the phrasing.
The declaration and the Constitution of the United States (1787) were key statements of American freedom, but as collaborative documents they necessitated compromises to satisfy all of their authors.
Calls for an American literature began during the Revolution and became more frequent and urgent as independence was assured.
The records of the Committee on EvilLiterature, which were made available to the public under the National Archives Act in January 1995, reveal early attempts by the newly established Irish Free State to prevent the introduction into, and circulation within, Ireland of printed matter deemed to be morally corrupting.
The Committee on EvilLiterature was appointed by the Minister for Justice, Kevin O'Higgins, on 12 February 1926, to consider and report whether it is necessary or advisable in the interest of the public morality to extend the existing powers of the State to prohibit or restrict the sale and circulation of printed matter (1).
The Committee also sought advice from representatives of the principal religious bodies in Ireland and consequently there are files relating to the contributions of the Church of Ireland, the Roman Catholic hierarchy, the Methodist and Presbyterian churches, and the Jewish community.
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