The Censorship of Publications Act (1929) was an effort by the Irish Free State Government to protect the population from literature that was seen in the early to mid-twentieth century as immoral or indecent. Under the Act, a Censorship Board was set up that had the power to ban certain publications from being distributed in the country.

Many well-known and respected international writers had their work banned under the Act, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and Thomas Mann. Well-known Irish writers whose books were banned included Frank O’Connor, Kate O’Brien, Seán O’Faoláin, Austin Clarke and Edna O’Brien. Many Irish writers spoke out strongly against the Censorship Board's strictness. The Censorship Board still exists today, but it is no longer as severe as it was in the early days of Irish independence.