--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Dark, was banned by the Irish state…" description: "\"“Dark, was banned by the Irish state censor for obscenity. The story was set, as so much of McGahern's later fiction would be, in isolated rural Irelan..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7b/john-mcgahern-11742_child-abuse_dark-was-banned-by-the-irish-state-censo_815025.jpg" --- # Dark, was banned by the Irish state censor for obscenity… ![“Dark, was banned by the Irish state censor for obscenity. The story was set, as so much of McGahern's later fiction would be, in isolated rural Ireland and dealt with the bleak consequences of parental and clerical child abuse. On the instructions of the Archbishop of Dublin, McGahern was sacked…” quote by John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7b/john-mcgahern-11742_child-abuse_dark-was-banned-by-the-irish-state-censo_815025.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7b/john-mcgahern-11742_child-abuse_dark-was-banned-by-the-irish-state-censo_815025.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7b/john-mcgahern-11742_child-abuse_dark-was-banned-by-the-irish-state-censo_815025.jpg) > ““Dark, was banned by the Irish state censor for obscenity. The story was set, as so much of McGahern's later fiction would be, in isolated rural Ireland and dealt with the bleak consequences of parental and clerical child abuse. On the instructions of the Archbishop of Dublin, McGahern was sacked from his job as a primary school teacher. He later left the country. Despite these apparent setbacks, McGahern's literary friends reassured him that all this was a wonderful opportunity in terms of publicity and sales. Remember Joyce and Beckett being forced overseas? This was Irish literary history repeating itself, and preparations were soon being made to mount a campaign against the anachronistic and widely derided censorship laws with McGahern as the figurehead. Sign up for the Bookmarks email Read more McGahern agreed that the situation was indeed absurd, and says that even as an adolescent reader he had nothing but contempt for the censorship board.”” [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage critiques Irish censorship, noting how adversity can boost a writer's profile and echo past literary exiles. **In simple terms:** Censorship can paradoxically increase visibility. Key Takeaway Use obstacles as opportunities for growth. Themes censorship literary history adversity Mood critical hopeful Type political historical When to use this quote - publishing - public debates - author advocacy Key Concepts freedom of expression social critique Questions to Reflect On - How can writers balance protest with personal risk? - What role should society play in protecting artistic expression? A Different Perspective Censorship may still harm artistic freedom and personal safety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Censorship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/censorship/) [Child abuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child-abuse/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Contempt Censorship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contempt-censorship-309110/) [Dark Banned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark-banned-309109/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History Repeating Itself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-repeating-itself-213964/) [Mcgahern Literary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mcgahern-literary-309108/) [Read Mcgahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-mcgahern-309107/) ## Related quotes > [The Penobscot took an initial poll of people in the state to determine if there was support for opening a casino, and the poll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-m-loring/the-penobscot-took-an-initial-poll-of-people-in-the-state-to/) [Donna M. Loring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-m-loring/) > [“I’d seen it before. It was history, repeating itself, over and over again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-forrest/i-d-seen-it-before-it-was-history-repeating-itself-over-and-over-again/) [Bella Forrest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-forrest/) > [Those who stand for different causes during different generations often experience the same oppositions and the same difficulties as those of the previous and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/those-who-stand-for-different-causes-during-different-generations/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [“Not even children were spared. To see history repeating itself, and the calamities of the past unfolding again, spelled out in the eyes of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/widad-akreyi/not-even-children-were-spared-to-see-history-repeating-itself-and-the/) [Widad Akreyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/widad-akreyi/) > [“History repeating itself is history's oldest story.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-wick/history-repeating-itself-is-history-s-oldest-story/) [Steve Wick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-wick/) > [“It's not history repeating itself in Gaza, it's horror repeating itself”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/it-s-not-history-repeating-itself-in-gaza-it-s-horror-repeating-itself/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [I was married for nine years before my husband and I separated and eventually divorced. Just as I'd watched my parents arguing and fighting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-king/i-was-married-for-nine-years-before-my-husband-and-i-separated-and/) [Regina King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-king/) > [It was interesting looking back at the '80s and trying to find newspaper headlines from the time - the cliché of history repeating itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-k-vaughan/it-was-interesting-looking-back-at-the-80s-and-trying-to-find/) [Brian K. Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-k-vaughan/) > [“It’s hard to feel supported when you can’t tell people everything. People haven’t really got a clue what it’s like. It’s hard to trust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-jamieson/it-s-hard-to-feel-supported-when-you-can-t-tell-people-everything/) [Alice Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-jamieson/) > [“The way in which the child is manipulated pulls them into considering the lies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-dsouza/the-way-in-which-the-child-is-manipulated-pulls-them-into-considering/) [Patricia Dsouza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-dsouza/) > [“I used to teach at an abused children's home. I told the kids, "You all have a manure pile of memories. Nothing you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-o-donnell/i-used-to-teach-at-an-abused-children-s-home-i-told-the-kids-you-all/) [Rebecca O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-o-donnell/) > [“Blaming therapy, social work and other caring professions for the confabulation of testimony of 'satanic ritual abuse' legitimated a programme of political and social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-salter/blaming-therapy-social-work-and-other-caring-professions-for-the/) [Michael Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-salter/) > [“Don’t turn your face away. Once you’ve seen, you can no longer act like you don’t know. Open your eyes to the truth. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vashti-quiroz-vega/don-t-turn-your-face-away-once-you-ve-seen-you-can-no-longer-act-like/) [Vashti Quiroz-Vega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vashti-quiroz-vega/) > [“The sole reason I stand to open it up now is that lots of people who are in pain just like I was, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-dsouza/the-sole-reason-i-stand-to-open-it-up-now-is-that-lots-of-people-who/) [Patricia Dsouza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-dsouza/) > [“If we could somehow end child abuse and neglect, the eight hundred pages of DSM (and the need for the easier explanations such as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-briere/if-we-could-somehow-end-child-abuse-and-neglect-the-eight-hundred/) [John Briere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-briere/) ## More by John McGahern > [“They'd listen silenty, with grave faces: but once they'd turn to each other they'd smile cruelly. He couldn't have it both ways. He'd put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/they-d-listen-silenty-with-grave-faces-but-once-they-d-turn-to-each/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [“…But all life turns away from its own eventual hopelessness, leaving insomnia and its night to lovers and the dying.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/but-all-life-turns-away-from-its-own-eventual-hopelessness-leaving/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [Yes, but also one of the problems for a novelist in Ireland is the fact that there are no formal manners. I mean some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/yes-but-also-one-of-the-problems-for-a-novelist-in-ireland-is-the/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [My favorite optimist was an American who jumped off the Empire State Building, and as he passed the 42nd floor, the window washers heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/my-favorite-optimist-was-an-american-who-jumped-off-the-empire-state/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [The imagination demands that life be told slant because of its need of distance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/the-imagination-demands-that-life-be-told-slant-because-of-its-need/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [“When a long abuse of power is corrected, it is generally replaced by an opposite violence. In the new dispensation all that was good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/when-a-long-abuse-of-power-is-corrected-it-is-generally-replaced-by/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [But that private world, once it's dramatised, doesn't live again until it finds a reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/but-that-private-world-once-it-s-dramatised-doesn-t-live-again-until/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [Yes, though I have nothing but gratitude for my upbringing in the church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/yes-though-i-have-nothing-but-gratitude-for-my-upbringing-in-the/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [I'd much prefer to write more quickly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/i-d-much-prefer-to-write-more-quickly/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [“McGahern still lives on and works a farm in Leitrim, and friends say that even though he has held high profile academic posts round…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/mcgahern-still-lives-on-and-works-a-farm-in-leitrim-and-friends-say/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [Everything that we inherit, the rain, the skies, the speech, and anybody who works in the English language in Ireland knows that there's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/everything-that-we-inherit-the-rain-the-skies-the-speech-and-anybody/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [When I start to write, words have become physical presence. It was to see if I could bring that private world to life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/when-i-start-to-write-words-have-become-physical-presence-it-was-to/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [Without the book business it would be difficult or impossible for true books to find their true readers and without that solitary (and potentially…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/without-the-book-business-it-would-be-difficult-or-impossible-for/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [I suppose . . . in writing you can't have regrets. I mean, you just get it down the way it was . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/i-suppose-in-writing-you-can-t-have-regrets-i-mean-you-just-get-it/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [“…only then did I wake out of the book.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/only-then-did-i-wake-out-of-the-book/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) [Explore all 58 John McGahern quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) ## More Censorship quotes > [“Medical studies have shown that cursing reduces levels of stress and pain. Repressing your anger is not healthy. It's much better to verbalize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/medical-studies-have-shown-that-cursing-reduces-levels-of-stress-and/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) > [“Censors don’t want children exposed to ideas different from their own. 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Where there is none, it is pretty certain that the official…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/when-there-is-official-censorship-it-is-a-sign-that-speech-is-serious/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [“I agree that it's a shame some books have to suffer ratings that clearly are invalid. However I can't think of a way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otis-y-chandler/i-agree-that-it-s-a-shame-some-books-have-to-suffer-ratings-that/) [Otis Y. Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otis-y-chandler/) > [I think that, honestly, people's censorship issues are personal but I disagree with most of those personal choices that I see others make. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-rogen/i-think-that-honestly-people-s-censorship-issues-are-personal-but-i/) [Seth Rogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-rogen/) > [Art made tongue-tied by authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/art-made-tongue-tied-by-authority/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“The tendency to want what has been banned and therefore to presume that it is more worthwhile is not limited to such commodities as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-cialdini/the-tendency-to-want-what-has-been-banned-and-therefore-to-presume/) [Robert B. Cialdini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-cialdini/) > [The only thing that is obscene is censorship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-thing-that-is-obscene-is-censorship/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In a feature film, the question of censorship always comes up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javed-jaffrey/in-a-feature-film-the-question-of-censorship-always-comes-up/) [Javed Jaffrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javed-jaffrey/) > [“Don't join the book burners. Don't think you're going to conceal faults by concealing evidence that they ever existed. Don't be afraid to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/don-t-join-the-book-burners-don-t-think-you-re-going-to-conceal/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [ If no one speaks out for \[young readers\], if they don’t speak out for themselves, all they’ll get for required reading will be the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-blume/if-no-one-speaks-out-for-young-readers-if-they-don-t-speak-out-for/) [Judy Blume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-blume/) [Browse all 884 Censorship quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/censorship/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Dark, was banned by the Irish state censor for obscenity. The story was set, as so much of McGahern's later fiction would be, in isolated rural Ireland and dealt with the bleak consequences of parental and clerical child abuse. On the instructions of the Archbishop of Dublin, McGahern was sacked from his job as a primary school teacher. He later left the country. Despite these apparent setbacks, McGahern's literary friends reassured him that all this was a wonderful opportunity in terms of publicity and sales. Remember Joyce and Beckett being forced overseas? This was Irish literary history repeating itself, and preparations were soon being made to mount a campaign against the anachronistic and widely derided censorship laws with McGahern as the figurehead. 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