The Ban

Northern Ireland experienced a bloody year in 1987, with many terrorist attacks by the IRA. To deprive this paramilitary organization of “the oxygen of publicity”, in 1988 Margaret Thatcher’s government banned UK radio and TV from giving airtime to representatives of the IRA and its political wing Sinn Féin.

Because of a loophole in the law—the censorship only applied to voices—media organizations circumvented it by having actors dub the voices of the interviewees. On one occasion, Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams was voiced by actor Stephen Rea.

In The Ban, Adams and Rea, among others, look back on this bizarre period, which lasted until 1994. Danny Morrison, Sinn Féin’s press officer at the time, describes the censorship as a farce. The film ends with the warning that the British government is once again using the threat of terrorism to censor free speech and the right to protest.