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Brendan Behan Biography |
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Brendan Francis Behan (Irish language: Breandán Ó Beacháin) (February 9, 1923 - March 20, 1964) was an Irish literature poet, short story writer, novelist and playwright who wrote in both Irish and English language. He was also a committed Irish Republican and an erstwhile member of the Irish Republican Army (1922-1969). Behan was one of the most successful Irish theatre dramatists of the 20th century. /b> 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 literature writers to the children at bedtime and his mother took them on literary tours of the city. Behan's uncle, Peadar Kearney, wrote the Amhrán na bhFiann. His brother, Dominic Behan, was also a renowned songwriter, whilst another sibling, Brian Behan, was a prominent radical political activist and public speaker, actor, author and playwright; Brendan believed Brian was 'a traitor to the cause' and it is notable that Brendan's dying wish was to have his brother Brian shot. His mother, Kathleen Behan, was politically active throughout her life and was a personal friend of Michael Collins (Irish leader). She published her acclaimed autobiography and memoirs 'Mother of All The Behans', a collaboration with their son Brian, in 1984. At the age of thirteen, Behan left school to follow his father's footsteps in the housepainting business. Republican activities In 1937, the family moved to a new local authority housing scheme in Crumlin, Dublin. Here, Behan became a member of Fianna Éireann, the youth organization of the Irish Republican Army (1922-1969) and published his first poems and prose in the organization's magazine Fianna: the Voice of Young Ireland. In 1939, Behan was arrested in Liverpool in possession of explosives for use in the IRA S-Plan bombing campaign. He was sentenced to three years in a reform school (or Borstal in British English) (see his autobiography "Borstal Boy") and did not return to Ireland until 1941. In 1942, during the timeframe leading to the IRA's Northern_Campaign_(IRA) Behan was tried for the attempted murder of two detectives in Dublin and sentenced to fourteen years. Behan was sent to Mountjoy Prison and later to the Curragh Internment Camp. He was released in 1946 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. 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 County Galway and County 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 Borstal Boy was published. Behan was now established as one of the leading Irish writers of his generation. Behan was perhaps the most famous Irish writer of his time, and 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 stout. After a month the company asked Behan what he had come up with; Behan had already managed to drink all of the beer they had given him and produced the slogan Guinness Makes You Drunk. Erroneously, he is also sometimes credited with "Guinness is Good for You", which was actually written by Dorothy L. Sayers. Decline and death Behan found fame difficult to deal with. He had long been a heavy drinker (describing himself, on one occasion, as "a drinker with a writing problem" and claiming "I only drink on two occasions - when I'm thirsty and when I'm not") and developed diabetes in the early 1960s. This combination resulted in a series of notoriously drunken public appearances, both on stage and television. After 1957, his books consisted of transcriptions of tape recorded conversation or of works written long before that date. He died, aged 41, in the Meath Hospital, Dublin, and was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery. His last words were to several nuns standing over his bed, "God bless you, may your sons all be bishops." Pop Culture References He was mentioned in the Preacher (comics) comics by Garth Ennis when the vampire Cassidy claimed to have known him in the 50's. Ennis also created a Behan analogue in Hellblazer. Behan is the subject of the chorus of "Streams Of Whiskey", song by the Pogues, "Last night as I slept, I dreamt I met with Behan, I shook him by the hand, and we passed the time of day, when questioned on his thoughts, on the sum of his life's philosophy, he had these very clear and simple words to say; I am going, I am going, any which way the winds may be blowing, I am going, I am going, where streams of whiskey are flowing". Behan is also mentioned in the Pogues song "Thousands are Sailing" with reference to the experience of Irish immigrants in New York: "And in Brendan Behan's footsteps, I danced up and down the street". In the song "All Things considered" by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones" Behan is also mentioned. In the Thin Lizzy song "Black Rose" in the lyric "Ah sure, Brendan where have you Behan?" In The Mountain Goats song "Commandante", he is mentioned with the lyric, "I'm gonna drink more whiskey than Brendan Behan". In "Thinking Voyager II Type Things", Bob Geldof sings, "So rise up Brendan Behan / And like a drunken Lazarus / Let's traipse the high bronze of the evening sky / Like crack-crazed kings" Shortly after Behan's death a young student, Fred Geis, wrote the song "Lament for Brendan Behan," and passed it on to the Clancy Brothers, who sang it on their album "Recorded Live in Ireland!" the same year. This song, which calls "bold Brendan" Ireland's "sweet angry singer," was later covered by the Australian trio The Doug Anthony All Stars, better known as a comedy band, in an album entitled "Blue" during the mid-eighties. Brendan Behan is also mentioned in the Damien Dempsey song "Jar Song" taken from the seize the day album. The lyrics are "Brendan Behan was a friend of mine," Behan's prisoner song "The Ould Triangle," from his play "The Quare Fella" (this term being prison slang for a prisoner condemned to be hung), has been recorded by groups including the Pogues. See the Discussion Page on the entry, "Royal Canal of Ireland (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Royal_Canal_of_Ireland ) Works Plays Books Songs Biographies "Brendan Behan" by Ulick O'Connor 
Courtesy of: http://www.wikipedia.org/ |
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