Home > Brendan Behan
Brendan Behan ( 9 February, 1923- 20 March, 1964) was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist and playwright who wrote in both Irish and English. He was also a committed Irish Republican. Behan was one of the most successful Irish dramatists of the 20th century.1 Early Life
Behan was born in inner-city Dublin into an educated working class family. The house the Behan family lived in belonged to his grandmother, who owned a number of properties in the area. His father, a housepainter who had been active in the Irish War of Independence, read classic English writers to the children at bedtime and his mother took them on literary tours of the city. Behan's uncle, Peadar Kearney, wrote the Irish National Anthem. At the age of thirteen, Behan left school to follow his father's footsteps in the housepainting business.
2 Republican Activities
In 1937, the family moved to a new local authority housing scheme in Crumlin. Here, Behan became a member of Fianna Eireann, the youth organization generally sympathetic to the IRAThere are several paramilitary groups which claim or have claimed the title Irish Republican Army IRA , and advocate a unitary Irish state with no ties to the United Kingdom. All claim descent from the original 'Irish Republican Army', the 'army' of the I and published his first poems and prose in the organization's magazine Fianna: the Voice of Young Ireland. In 1939Events January-June January 2 End of term for Frank Finley Merriam, 28th Governor of California. He is succeeded by Culbert Levy Olson. January 24 Earthquake kills 30. 000 in Chile about 50. 000 sq mi razed January 26 Falangists take Barcelona January 26, Behan was arrested in LiverpoolFor alternate uses of "Liverpool" see Liverpool (disambiguation Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside in north west England, on the north side of the Mersey estuary. Liverpool is governed by Liverpool City Council, one of five council in possession of explosives for use in a planned IRA bombing campaign. He was sentenced to three years in Borstal Prison (Kent) and did not return to IrelandThe island of Ireland ire in Irish, Airlann in Ulster Scots) is the third-largest island in Europe. It lies on the west side of the Irish Sea, close to the island of Great Britain. It is composed of the Republic of Ireland in the south and Northern Irelan until 19411941 is also the title of a Steven Spielberg movie made in 1979 see 1941 (film). Events January January 6 Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivers his Four Freedoms Speech in the State of the Union Address. January 10 Lend-Lease is introduced into the United St. In 1942Events January January 1 World War II: The word " United Nations" is first officially used to describe the Allied pact. January 2 World War II: Manila is captured by Japanese forces. January 5 Amy Johnson disappears in flight over River Thames estuary ass, Behan was tried for the attempted murder of two detectives and sentenced to fourteen years. Behan was sent to Mountjoy Prison and later to the Curragh Internment Camp. He was released in 1946Events January January 4 Theodore Schurch becomes the last person to be executed for offences committed under the Treachery Act of 1940 January 7 Allied recognize Austrian republic with 1937 borders the country is divided into four occupation zones Januar as part of a general amnesty of republican prisoners. In 1947, he spent a short time in prison in Manchester for helping a fellow republican to escape from jail.
3 Behan the Writer
Behan's prison experiences were central to his future writing career. In Mountjoy he wrote his first play, The Landlady and also began to write short stories and other prose. Some of this work was published in The Bell, the leading Irish literary magazine of the time. He also learned Irish in prison and after his release in 1946, he spent some time in the Gaeltacht areas of Galway and Kerry, where he started writing poetry in Irish. By the early 1950s he was earning a living as a writer for radio and newspapers and had gained a reputation as something of a character on the streets and in literary circles in Dublin.
His major breakthrough came in 1954 when his play The Quare Fellow , which was based on his experiences in jail, was produced in the Pike Theatre in Dublin. The play ran for six months. In May 1956, The Quare Fellow opened in the Theatre Royal, Stratford in a production by Joan Littlewood, bringing international fame to the author. In 1957, his Irish language play, An Giall ( The Hostage) opened in the Damer Theatre and his autobiographical novel The Borstal Boy was published. Behan was now established as one of the leading Irish writers of his generation.
By far the most famous Irish writer of his time he was once hired to write an advertising slogan for Guinness. As part of his payment for this the company offered him half a dozen kegs of their drink. After a month the company asked Behan what he had came up with, Behan had already managed to drink all of the beer they had given him and produced the famous slogan 'Guinness makes you drunk'.
