Racists tried to ban this book. How ironic that Ireland might now shun it

To Kill a Mockingbird is part of many Irish childhoods.

Should it supply moral instruction?

• Niamh Mulvey
• The Irish Times

Harper Lee derived much of To Kill a Mockingbird, her 1960 novel, from her childhood in 1930s Alabama.

And it has, for better or worse, become a canonical part of many Irish people’s childhoods as a set text for the Junior Certificate for at least 20 years. (Though teachers can choose to teach other texts, it remains popular.)

Earlier this year, events in the United States led to debate around its place on the syllabus, especially to do with an important question relating to racial…

• Racists tried to…