The Committee on Evil Literature was a committee set up by the Irish Free State's Department of Justice in 1926 to look into censorship of printed matter.
After independence in 1922, the authorities of the Irish Free State came 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 Dáil Éireann that existing obscenity laws were sufficient and the government had no right to further interfere with people's personal freedom. He received 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, ranged very widely. 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.[citation needed] 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.
The Committee on Evil Literature ceased to exist once its report was completed and presented to the Minister for Justice on 28 December 1926.
1929 Censorship of Publications Board
The Censorship of Publications Board was established under the Censorship of Publications Act 1929, and the scope of its work was expanded by two further acts in 1946 and 1967.
Committee on Evil Literature (8 February 1927). Report(PDF). Dublin: Stationery Office. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
External links
National Archives of Ireland: "Ferreting out Evil. The Records of the Committee on Evil Literature"
Committee on Evil Literature database (archived 2000)
April 28, 2023
committee, evil, literature, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Committee on Evil Literature news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Committee on Evil Literature was a committee set up by the Irish Free State s Department of Justice in 1926 to look into censorship of printed matter After independence in 1922 the authorities of the Irish Free State came 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 Dail Eireann that existing obscenity laws were sufficient and the government had no right to further interfere with people s personal freedom He received 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 Contents 1 1926 committee 2 1929 Censorship of Publications Board 3 See also 4 References 5 External links1926 committee EditThe 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 ranged very widely 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 citation needed 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 The Committee on Evil Literature ceased to exist once its report was completed and presented to the Minister for Justice on 28 December 1926 1929 Censorship of Publications Board EditThe Censorship of Publications Board was established under the Censorship of Publications Act 1929 and the scope of its work was expanded by two further acts in 1946 and 1967 See also EditCensorship in the Republic of Ireland Index Librorum ProhibitorumReferences EditCommittee on Evil Literature 8 February 1927 Report PDF Dublin Stationery Office Retrieved 5 December 2013 External links EditNational Archives of Ireland Ferreting out Evil The Records of the Committee on Evil Literature Committee on Evil Literature database archived 2000 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Committee on Evil Literature amp oldid 1124564584, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
