Charged for having first book banned in decades

Gardaí are prosecuting a 40-year-old west Clare man for the possession of the first book to be banned here in nearly two decades.

Earlier this year, The Raped Little Runaway by Jean Martin and published by Star Distributors Ltd became the first book to be banned by the Irish Censorship of Publications Board since 1998.

The board found that the book — which contains multiple descriptions of child rape — to be ‘indecent’ and ‘obscene’.