Quotes and anectdotes from the wise to the foolish, and the courageous to the drunk

Brendan Behan Novelist

  • Gender: Male
  • Citizenship: Republic of Ireland
  • Born: Feb 9, 1923
  • Died: Mar 20, 1964

Brendan Francis Behan was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, and playwright who wrote in both English and Irish. He was also an Irish republican and a volunteer in the Irish Republican Army. Born in Dublin into a republican family, he became a member of the IRA's youth organisation Fianna Éireann at the age of fourteen. However, there was also a strong emphasis on Irish history and culture in the home, which meant he was steeped in literature and patriotic ballads from a tender age. Behan eventually joined the IRA at sixteen, which led to his serving time in a borstal youth prison in the United Kingdom and was also imprisoned in Republic of Ireland. During this time, he took it upon himself to study and he became a fluent speaker of the Irish language. Subsequently released from prison as part of a general amnesty given by the Fianna Fáil government in 1946, Behan moved between homes in Dublin, Kerry and Connemara and also resided in Paris for a period.

In 1954, Behan's first play The Quare Fellow was produced in Dublin.

The big difference between sex for money and sex for free is that sex for money usually costs a lot less. marriage & money

I was court-martialled in my absence, and sentenced to death in my absence, so I said they could shoot me in my absence. death

If it was raining soup, the Irish would go out with forks. St. Patrick's Day

It's not that the Irish are cynical. It's rather that they have a wonderful lack of respect for everything and everybody. respect