The Journey of a Banned Book


Efa over at Not So Clever's comment on Cuirt an Mhean-Oice, “banned, as befell Ulysses” stimulated a memory that had me laughing. Terrible the things we did when young.
Some time in the 1960’s “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” was finally published in the UK. Of course there was no hope that it would be on general release in the Republic. So one Saturday morning, a group of four, (two guys, two gals, one of them me) took the train from Dundalk to Belfast to acquire a copy. In what hope I’ll never recall.

Somewhere in the bookstalls of Belfast Market we acquired a copy in the ubiquitous brown paper bag. We had a lovely day in Belfast, I recall buying a mini-skirt that by today’s standards would be called knee length. Anyway, the journey back was eventless until we neared Dundalk, where one of our number became quite anxious about the customs men on Dundalk Station. Mindful of the shame, uproar, etc if the Sisters of Mercy, my school; or the De La Salle Brothers, the guys school, were to hear of our adventure, the guys decided that a quick exit from the train was necessary as it slowed to enter the station. So they opened the door and jumped, Lady Chatterley stuffed down the back of one of their jeans. She must have been delighted.

As my friend and I proffered our bags for inspection at the Customs, the guy (who had seen us depart that morning) looked at the two of us saying, “Didya leave those fellas above in the Six Counties?” at which we both broke down with laughter. He followed it up with “So you’ll both be free at Ballymac tonight?” Small town, everybody knows what everybody else is doing.
I do recall that by the time we met up with our train-jumpers they had both spent most of the time searching the book for the “interesting bits”, and declared that they couldn’t find any.
Maybe that’s why it was banned in the first place?

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