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IN 1978, THEN Taoiseach Jack Lynch received a complaint from a concerned citizen about an underwear advertisement which appeared in the RTÉ Guide.
The ad, pictured above, was for a new range of bras from Silhouette “designed to bring romance and adventure into your life”. It describes the bras as “soft, lacy and sensual”.
In a letter to Lynch, the person asked him to “do something about it”.
“Is it right to tolerate in out RTÉ Guide what really amounts to a plug for pornography?”
They said this kind of advertisement had the potential to “corrupt the very essence” of our heritage.
In that same year, Lynch passed on a suggestion made by a Canon in Tipperary to charge 100 VAT on ‘objectionable magazines’ imported to the State to Tánaiste and Minister for Finance George Colley. The Tánaiste replied that he had “carefully and sympathetically” considered Lynch’s representations but said “serious practical difficulties” would arise if the government tried to implement this.
Pornographic magazines
This was not the only example of complaints about material considered inappropriate in Irish publications at the time.
In 1980, a complaint made by the organisation ‘Parent Concern’ about the periodical ‘New Man and Woman’, was upheld by the Censorship of Publications Board as it was found to be ‘indecent or obscene’.
A letter to then Taoiseach Charles Haughey from the group’s honorary secretary details examples of perceived inappropriate content like features on wife-swapping with pictures of groups of nude couples.
She also expressed concern about details of various family planning centres, saying “if these are an indication of goings-on during sessions then they are no more than prostitution centers (sic) for orgies, with of course the commercial advocacy of contraceptives and abortion”.
The board found that the sale and distribution of further issues of the publication in Ireland should be prohibited.
‘Sensuous and sexual gratification’
In 1983, the Deputy Chairman of The Society to Outlaw Pornography, Marjorie Elliot, wrote to Taoiseach Garret Fitzgerald about an issue of ‘Executive World’, a men’s magazine.
(Image: Brand New Retro)
In her letter she pointed out that Fitzgerald’s political party had expressed a determination to upgrade the status of women in society.
“Yet magazines of this type present them as sex objects, things of sensuous and sexual gratification for men, and in debasing them deprive them of their dignity and their rights,” she said.
She also said these magazines play a major part in inciting crimes of rape and sexual assault – “leading inexorably sexual crimes against children”.
Fitzgerald’s office wrote to the Department of Justice to seek guidance on the issue and was advised that it was a matter for the Censorship of Publications Board.
In correspondence, they said the board may prohibit a publication over a number of issues including advocating the procurement of abortion, devoting a large proportion to crime and any publication seen to be frequently indecent or obscene.
The Taoiseach’s private secretary responded to Elliot to advise her to lodge her complaint with the board.
See National Archives, Reference number 2013/100/3 .
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Another reminder that the children’s hospital is being built in the wrong location. Every time there is an accident on the M50 roads into Dublin cannot manage the level of traffic.
Inside the M50 belt just does not make sense.
@Ciarán McPhillips: such a scary thought for a child to be in an ambulance and caught up on the M50. Disgraceful decision.
@Deborah Behan: We’re sleepwalking our way towards that exact situation. The mind boggles.
No doubt caused by some muppet hammering up the outside/city lanes and then nipping in to go northbound. We need to start a campaign to not let queue jumpers in.
@mcgoo:
Or perhaps allowing queue jumpers in would stop the accidents
Meanwhile here in Leitrim….
@Patrick J. O’Rourke: who cares about a dying county like Leitrim
@Michael Walsh: We are not dying. We’re generally quite happy that we don’t have to become a slave to make a living. Who cares about the septic tank that is Dublin? See…same question.
@Patrick J. O’Rourke: As a Dub myself id agree. Dublin is grinding to a standstill as we repeat the mistakes of the Celtic tiger years and continue to vote for political organisations who have their and not the nation as a whole best interests at heart.
@Patrick J. O’Rourke: jealous
@quality cheese: Did you post this on your 6 hour journey to work or from bed this morning? Hard to tell…. but “quality cheese”…… your at home
@Michael Walsh: like it or not your taxes keep Leitrim going.
@quality cheese: A tendency to resort to insults shows quite clearly a lack of intellect.
Tailgating is the problem. Its amazing cars doing 140kph tailgating just 1 metre behind the car in front. Amazing breaking system they must have to avoid a crash if the car in front suddenly breaks. KEEP YOUR DISTANCE. 1m for every 2kph. Eg a car must leave 200 metres distance at 100 kph.
@Brendan Mason: That and the roads were wet this morning, come this way every morning before 7am.
Speed limit drops from 100 kp to 80 kp, most people dont pay any heed to that.
Many go beyond it.
Zero police enforcement and bad driving skills, welcome to Irish driving!
@Brendan Mason: 1m for every 2kph? Therfore using your formula travelling around 100kph should have a gap of 50m not 200m. Anyway if anyone left a gap of 200m on an Irish motorway they’d be flashed at (lights) and abused by other road users.
@Brendan Mason: The accident happened close to the Luas car park junction before the M50. Given the time of morning the accident occurred, and it being a Monday which is probably the busiest morning of the week anyway, it’s virtually an impossibility that cars were traveling at 140kph, or anywhere remotely close to that speed.
@Tommy Roche: the 140 kph is an example. 4okph may be enough to cause a crash if cars are close enough to each other .
@Brendan Mason: 40 kph sorry.
@Brendan Mason: I drive as part of my job and find that if you do leave a gap to the car in front then you’ll always have a gimp who will try to squeeze their car into that gap meaning you have to jam on the breaks
@Brendan Mason: 1mtr behind a car in front driving at 140kmh? Bit of an exaggeration don’t you think. Most drivers wouldn’t be able to judge 60, 80,100mtrs. Little tip – if you are overtaking in the out most lane try keep right of centre of your lane. You will be able to see the break lights of the second car in front.
@Brendan Mason: if you keep the right distance some mope jumps in in front of you that cuts your distance your bolloxed then . This happens very often rant over
For a lot of tech companies e.g. Facebook, Dell, Amazon, people can work from home quite a bit. With some planning you dont need mega-speed broadband either. Can’t help but think some of these businesses could make the leap to commuter towns and beyond. Clonakility has a multinational, the workers have houses, sea-air, little traffic and are 30 mins from Cork for a bit of life, and the airport also. Not ignoring the lack of routes currently available, but if more large towns within 60 mins of Galway, Limerick and Cork were utilised, how much better would life be for people? It will only take one big tech company to lead the way.
Vomit. How do people put up with this shit everyday of their lives.
Life is short people.
@Ciarán McPhillips: I ment 50 metres for 100 kph.
70 metres for 140 kph etc.
@Brendan Mason: but they are not leaving a fraction of that distance. Gung ho. Flash lights. The road is mine attitude. Slap on the breaks etc.
@Brendan Mason:
Spot on. Clueless behaviour.
H
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