Irish Film Classification Office
Background
The Irish Film Classification Office (IFCO) 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 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 1st, 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 £1000 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 "RA" stands for "Responsible Adult". It was withdrawn in the mid-2000's.
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..png)
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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 BBFC's model in the UK (of U, A and X)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 1st, 2001 onward are available.
On December 9th, 2004, an overhaul was announced by then-Film Censor John Kelleher, which came into effect on January 1st, 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 1st, 2001 - January 1st, 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 1st, 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).
January 1965 - ????
Certification symbols:
- G (General) - Suitable for all ages.
- 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 from January 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.
??? - June 1st, 2001
Certification symbols:
- 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 1980's and 1990's include U12ACC and 16 - the former was retired in the mid-1990's and the latter was retired around 1990. However, since the only available certificate of this design is from December 1999, it's unknown if certificate cards existed using them).
FX/SFX: None.
Music/Sounds: None.
Availability: Seen in cinemas before all films from an unknown date up until June 1st, 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.
June 1st, 2001 - January 1st, 2005
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:
- 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 1st, 2001 to January 1st, 2005.
The above certificates were displayed during an RTÉ News broadcast dated 31st May, 2001 and narrated by Colm Connolly.
January 1st, 2005 - present
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 descriptions:
- G [Blue] - General. Suitable for all persons.
- PG [Green] - Parental Guidance: Some scenes may be unsuitable for young children.
- 12A [Orange] - Suitable only for 12 years and over. Persons under 12 must be accompanied by an adult.
- 15A [Pink] - Suitable only for 15 years and over. Persons under 15 must be accompanied by an adult.
- 16 [Purple] - Only for persons of 16 years and over.
- 18 [Red] - Only for persons of 18 years and over.
FX/SFX: None.
Music/Sounds: None.
Availability: Seen in cinemas before all films from January 1st, 2005 onward.
Variants: Films classified before 20th July, 2008 replace the word "Classification" with "Censor's".
The director's name changes depending on who was in that position when the film was classified:
- (1st January 2005 - 20th November 2009) - John Kelleher as Director
- (20th November 2009 - May 2016) - Ger Connolly as Acting Director
- (May 2016 - present) - Ger Connolly as Director
