Brendan Behan

Brendan Behan was an Irish Republican, poet, short story writer, novelist, and playwright who wrote in both English and Irish. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Irish writers and poets of all time.

An Irish republican and a volunteer in the Irish Republican Army, Behan was born in Dublin into a staunchly republican family becoming a member of the IRA’s youth organisation Fianna Eireann 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 an early age.

Date of birth:
9th February, 1923
Date of death:
20th March, 1964
"I have a total irreverence for anything connected with society except that which makes the roads safer, the beer stronger, the food cheaper and the old men and old women warmer in the winter and happier in the summer."
― Brendan Behan
Topic(s): Food
"I was court-martialled in my absence, and sentenced to death in my absence, so I said they could shoot me in my absence."
― Brendan Behan
Topic(s): Death
"The big difference between sex for money and sex for free is that sex for money usually costs a lot less."
― Brendan Behan
Topic(s): Marriage
"It’s not that the Irish are cynical. It’s rather that they have a wonderful lack of respect for everything and everybody."
― Brendan Behan
Topic(s): Respect
"When I came back to Dublin I was courtmartialed in my absence and sentenced to death in my absence, so I said they could shoot me in my absence."
― Brendan Behan
Topic(s): Death

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