In October 1937, a young man and a woman were seen kissing in public in Blackrock, Co Louth. For the local judge, District Justice Goff, it was an opportunity to apply a recently introduced piece of legislation. Section 18 of the updated 1935 Criminal Law Amendment Act provided Goff with an opportunity to police social activity.

The law was strict but also open to interpretation: Every person who shall commit, at or near and in sight of any place along which the public habitually pass as of right or by permission, any act in such a way as to offend modesty or cause scandal or injure the morals of the community shall be guilty…

Headline: Boy and Girl Kiss in Public and Free State Sentences Her to Jail