Irish Writers Online / Author
Brendan Behan
Brendan Behan was born in Dublin in 1923.
He served in Borstal (juvenile prison) for his activities in the IRA, and his experiences formed the background for his most important work.
His plays are
The Quare Fellow (Dublin, The Pike Theatre, 1954/London, Theatre Royal, 1956);
An Giall (commisioned by Gael Linn, 1958), translated by Behan as The Hostage (London, Theatre Royal, 1958);
Richard’s Cork Leg (1965, unfinished but posthumously produced by Alan Simpson, Dublin, Peacock Theatre, March 1972, featuring The Dubliners);
and the radio plays The Big House (BBC, 1957, later adapted for stage by Alan Simpson); Moving Out (Radio Éireann, 1967);
A Garden Party (Radio Éireann, 1967).
His books are
The Quare Fellow (London, Metheun, 1956);
Borstal Boy (London, Corgi Books, 1958);
The Hostage (Methuen, 1959); The Complete Plays (New York, Grove Press, 1978); and
Poems and a Play in Irish (Oldcastle, Gallery Books, 1981).
His prose includes
Brendan Behan’s Island - An Irish Sketchbook (London, Hutchinson, 1962); and
Brendan Behan’s New York (Hutchinson, 1964).
His posthumous publications include
Hold Your Hour and Have Another (Hutchinson);
The Scarperer (Hutchinson);
Moving Out and A Garden Party (Proscenium Press);
Confessions of an Irish Rebel (Hutchinson, 1965);
After the Wake (New York, Devin-Adair, 1983);
The Letters of Brendan Behan (McGill Queens Univ Press, 1992);
The King of Ireland’s Son (Orchard Books, 1996);
and The Dubbalin Man (A&A Farmar, 1998).
He died in the Meath Hospital, Dublin on March 20, 1964.
