FILM censor Mr Sheamus Smith has unexpectedly passed the Neil Jordan film Michael Collins with a PG (parental guidance) certificate. In an unprecedented move, Mr Smith issued a press statement yesterday explaining his decision.
Michael Collins is "a landmark in Irish cinema" and because of this he "wishes to make the film available to the widest possible Irish cinema audience", he says.
The film's international distributor, Warner Bros, yesterday announced it would open in Ireland and Britain on November 8th.
The PG certificate will allow Irish audiences of all ages to see the film while alerting parents to its violence and bad language.
"Because of the historical significance of this film", says Mr Smith, "many parents may wish to make their own decision as to whether or not their children should see it. For this reason the film censor has decided to grant a parental guidance (PG) certificate to the film Michael Collins.
"The certificate is accompanied by a warning to parents and guardians that the film includes scenes depicting explicit cruelty and violence along with some crude language not usually associated with the parental guidance classification. The film censor advises that in all cases, children under the age of 12 years should be accompanied by a parent or guardian."
The former Taoiseach, Dr Garret FitzGerald, who wrote last week in The Irish Times about being taken aback by some of the language in Michael Collins, said he welcomed a PC rating. To make the film available, but with a warning, was probably the best way of handling it.
Some parents, however, might find it a problem for children to see such a heroic figure using such language, he said. He had been taken aback because he had never heard Collins's contemporaries in later life using such language but that did not mean Collins did not use such language. "I never heard him speak," he said.
Warner Bros welcomed the news and with the censor's verdict delivered, the company announced the film's release date.
Because of the strong interest in the film in Michael Collins's native Cork, Warner will open the film in every cinema in the county on November 8th.