Banned books from Ireland’s room of ‘evil literature’ finally see the light of day

Censored books spanning 1926-96 contained themes ‘likely to corrupt or deprave’, or references to contraception or violence

For almost a century, an Irish government building in the heart of Dublin has hosted a secret sanctum: the banned books room.

The department of justice, on St Stephen’s Green, did not grant public access, because the shelves contained 12,000 books deemed indecent or obscene.