Ireland to transfer 12,000 banned books from secret room to National Archives

For nearly a century, a secret room inside a Dublin government building held 12,000 books banned by Ireland's Censorship of Publications Board between 1926 and 1996. The collection includes works by prominent authors like Oscar Wilde, Ian Fleming, and Edna O'Brien, which were condemned for themes related to sex, contraception, and violence. As part of the repeal of Ireland's censorship laws, the entire collection is being moved to the National Archives. Alongside the books, the censors' notes and ledgers detailing why specific titles were banned will be made publicly available for the first time, providing a new resource for social history researchers.