The Irish censorship board banned The Country Girls upon its publication, adding it to a list of over 1600 books banned in Ireland under the Censorship of Publications Act, 1929.[4][5]
The public response in Ireland was largely negative as a result of the sexual imagery and national critique throughout the trilogy. Religious and political figures took particular offence. Archbishop McQuaid and then Minister for Justice, Charlie Haughey decided that "the book was filth and should not be allowed inside any decent home."[6] The trilogy was also subject to multiple public book burnings, including one in O'Brien's hometown of Tuamgraney.[7]
The Irish response to the trilogy, and the trilogy's international success despite this reaction, are frequently cited as key moments in the history of female writers in Ireland. According to Irish novelist Anne Enright, "O'Brien is the great, the only, survivor of forces that silenced and destroyed who knows how many other Irish women writers, and her contradictions – her evasions even – must be regarded as salutary."[8]
On 5 November 2019 BBC News included The Country Girls on its list of the 100 most influential novels.[9]
