Irish Film Classification Office

Background

The Irish Film Classification Office (IFCO) (Irish: Oifig Aicmithe Scannán na hÉireann, OASÉ), formerly the Irish Film Censor's Office until July 21, 2008, is responsible for issuing age ratings for cinema and home video releases of films in the Republic of Ireland. They were established in 1923 and their certificates are legally binding.

Not much information is available about historical film certificates, because their website was only established in September 2004 and only shows certificates from then onward, but here's what's available combined with the current certificates:

Video

Video certificates were introduced by the IFCO on September 1, 1994. One of the first certified titles was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (rated G). Conviction penalties for those trading in uncertified videos took effect on the same day and included fines of up to 1,000 (Irish) pounds and a prison sentence of up to three years.

The system has remained mostly the same for over two decades:

G (General) - Fit for viewing by persons generally.
PG (Parental Guidance) - Fit for viewing generally, but in the case of a child under 12 years, under parental guidance.
12 RA - Fit for viewing by persons aged 12 years or more, but in the case of a child under 12 years, under parental guidance (since retired - see below).
12 - Fit for viewing by persons aged 12 years or more.
15 - Fit for viewing by persons aged 15 years or more.
18 - Fit for viewing by persons aged 18 years or more.

Retired certificates

12 RA - Not suitable for people aged younger than 12 unless they view with an adult, and not to be supplied to someone below that age. The designation "RA" stands for "Responsible Adult". It was officially replaced in 1996 by the PG and 12 home video ratings, and was completely withdrawn around 2003.

The last known release with a 12 RA certificate is Only Fools and Horses - The Complete Series 7, first released in 2004 and re-issued in 2009 as part of a box set called The Complete Collection. By then it had been re-rated PG, although the other releases in the collection raised the overall certificate to a 12. Films issued with a 12 RA certificate upon original release are automatically re-rated 12 when re-released, apart from if they're re-submitted and obtain a lower or higher certificate under modern guidelines.

18 RA - Not suitable for people aged younger than 18 unless they view with an adult, and not to be supplied to someone below that age. The "RA" stands for "Responsible Adult". It's unknown when this was withdrawn. The only known release with this certificate is a 1995 live show by Irish comedian Brendan O'Carroll (now known for Mrs Brown's Boys), titled How's Your Snowballs. The outer packaging displayed an 18 certificate, although the cassette label displayed an 18 RA certificate. A DVD version also exists, although it's unknown what certificate is displayed on the disc, the outer packaging displays an 18 certificate as on the VHS version.

Cinema

Cinema certificates were introduced by the Justice Minister (Brian Lenihan) in January 1965, after public complaints about the large number of films being banned - several cited the British Board of Film Censors' model as an example to look up to.

At the same time as appointing a brand new Appeals Board, he introduced three certificates:

G (General) - Suitable for all ages.
16 - Confined to persons over 16 years of age.
18 - Confined to persons over 18 years of age.

Not much is known about the next three decades of certification, as the IFCO's website only lists cinema releases certified from August 2004 onward and video releases from June 2009 onward, but the systems used from June 1, 2001 onwards are available.

On December 9, 2004, an overhaul was announced by then-Film Censor John Kelleher, which came into effect on January 1, 2005. The changes were as follows:

A new "16" certificate was introduced. Where films carry this certificate, admission is restricted to persons aged sixteen and over.
The existing "12PG" and "15PG" certificates were re-designated ‘12A’ and ‘15A’, where the ‘A’ denotes adult.

June 1, 2001-January 1, 2005

G (General) - Suitable for all ages.
PG (Parental Guidance) - Suitable for all ages, but parental guidance advised.
12PG - Films in this category are, in the opinion of the Film Censor, suitable for those aged 12 and over only. However, children under that age will be admitted if accompanied by an adult.
15PG - Films in this category are, in the opinion of the Film Censor, suitable for those aged 15 and over only. However, children under that age will be admitted if accompanied by an adult.
18 - Admission is restricted to persons aged 18 and over.

January 1, 2005-present

G(General) - Suitable for children of a school going age.
PG (Parental Guidance) - Suitable for children aged 8 and over.
12A - Suitable for viewers of 12 and over. However, they can also be seen by younger children, provided they are accompanied by an adult who has deemed the film appropriate viewing for that child.
15A - Suitable for viewers of 15 and over. However, they can also be seen by younger children, provided they are accompanied by an adult who has deemed the film appropriate viewing for that child.
16 - Suitable for viewers of 16 and over (admission is restricted to that age).
18 - Suitable for viewers of 18 and over (admission is restricted to that age).

1st Bumper (January 18, 1965-1980s?)

Bumper: We see the Irish Gaelic headings, "ACHTANNA UM SCRUDOIREACHT" and "SCANNAN, 1923 GO 1930". Below this is the certificate issued to the film, followed by the title, the Film Censor's initials (on the left) and his signature (on the right).

Certification Symbols and their Descriptions:

Symbol	Description	Notes
G	Suitable for all ages.	G stands for "General"
16	Confined to persons over 16 years of age.
18	Confined to persons over 18 years of age.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen in cinemas before all films released from January 18, 1965 up to an unknown date.

In terms of public availability, extremely rare. The only available example is from 1966, for the Don Weis comedy The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini. It had a General certificate which was retrieved from Alamy, an online stock photo archive.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Bumper (1980s?-June 1, 2001)

PG rating
T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous (1998, rated December 1999)

Bumper: We see the heading "CENSORSHIP OF FILM ACTS, 1923 to 1992"; the Irish Gaelic translation is displayed above. Below this is the certificate issued to the film, followed by the title, a message stating "This film is suitable for exhibition", a description of the certificate, the Film Censor's initials (on the left), and his signature (on the right).

Certification Symbols and their Descriptions:

Symbol	Description
G	General
PG	Parental Guidance
12	Suitable for 12 years and over. Admission is restricted to that age.
15	Suitable for 15 years and over. Admission is restricted to that age.
18	Suitable for 18 years and over. Admission is restricted to that age.

Certificates used throughout the 1980s and 1990s include U12ACC and 16; the former was retired in the mid-1990s and the latter was retired around 1990. However, since the only available certificate of this design on this wiki is from December 1999, it is currently unknown if there are certificate cards that carry those two ratings.

Note: The image of the bumper for T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous (1998), as seen in the gallery for this bumper, was also posted to the IMAX Dublin's Twitter account on September 6, 2017.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen in cinemas before all films from an unknown date up until May 31, 2001.

In terms of public availability, extremely rare. The only available example is from December 1999, for the IMAX 3D film T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous. It was the first cinema release of its kind in Ireland and was given a limited certificate of PG. It was released by the Twitter account of IMAX Dublin (@imaxdublin) on September 6th, 2017.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Bumper (June 1, 2001-January 1, 2005)

12PG rating
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2001)
15PG rating
Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001)

Bumper: We see the heading "CENSORSHIP OF FILM ACTS, 1923 to 1992"; the Irish Gaelic translation is displayed above. Below this is the certificate issued to the film (with an embossed effect), followed by the title, a description of the certificate, and the Film Censor's signature.

Certification Symbols and their Descriptions:

Symbol	Description
G	General
PG	Parental Guidance
12PG	Suitable for 12 years and over. Children under that age can be admitted if accompanied by an adult.
15PG	Suitable for 15 years and over. Children under that age can be admitted if accompanied by an adult.
18	Suitable for 18 years and over. Admission is restricted to that age.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen in cinemas before all films from June 1, 2001 to January 1, 2005.

The above certificates were displayed during an RTÉ News broadcast dated May 31, 2001 and narrated by Colm Connolly.

Editor's Note: None.

4th Bumper (January 1, 2005- )

15A rating
Blank
16 rating
Blank
18 rating
Blank

Bumper: We see the IFCO logo and on the right, a red heading saying "IRISH FILM CLASSIFICATION OFFICE"; the Irish Gaelic translation is displayed below, along with the text "CENSORSHIP OF FILM ACTS, 1923 to 1992" in both Irish Gaelic and English. Below this is the certificate issued to the film, followed by the title, a description of the certificate, the link to their website and the Director's signature.

Certification Symbols and their Descriptions:

Symbol	Description
G	General. Suitable for all persons.
PG	Parental Guidance: Some scenes may be unsuitable for young children.
12A	Suitable only for 12 years and over. Persons under 12 must be accompanied by an adult.
15A	Suitable only for 15 years and over. Persons under 15 must be accompanied by an adult.
16	Only for persons of 16 years and over.
18	Only for persons of 18 years and over.

Variants:

Films classified before July 20, 2008 onward have the heading displayed as "IRISH FILM CENSOR'S OFFICE".
The director's name changes depending on who was in that position when the film was classified:
- January 1, 2005-November 20, 2009: John Kelleher (as Director)
- November 20, 2009-May 2016: Ger Connolly (as Acting Director)
- May 2016-: Ger Connolly (as Director)

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen in cinemas before all films from January 1, 2005 onward.

Editor's Note: None.