Let's Talk About Sex - Ireland's long, unfinished journey from sexual conservatism to liberalism

Sex & Drugs
19 Jun 17

40 years ago, like a European Afghanistan, Ireland was hopelessly conservative in relation to sex and sexuality. However, the local equivalent of the Taliban have gradually been ousted – and this country has become a far more open, liberal, inclusive and tolerant place. That there is no room for complacency goes without saying…

In 1977, when the first issue of Hot Press hit the shelves, Ireland was one of the most sexually conservative places in the modern world. Contraception was illegal, as was divorce; and anyone caught engaging in a homosexual act could face a jail sentence.

This wasn’t bad news for everyone. In truth, Ireland in the 1970s and the 1980s was a great place to be a violent abuser. It was a god-soaked paradise for domestic tyrants, sexual predators, thuggish homophobes, vicious nuns and paedophile priests.

You think I am exaggerating?