Behan Complete Plays
A source page for quotes linked to Brendan Behan.
Related Quotes
“It was more luck than good management”
Source: Borstal Boy
Source: Borstal Boy
Source: The Hostage
Source: The Hostage
Source: Behan Complete Plays
“God forgive us-but most of us grew up to be the sort of men our mothers warned us against.”
“I'm a Communist by day and a Catholic as soon as it gets dark.”
“There's no one, no one, loves you like yourself.”
Source: The complete plays
“A man is fortunate if he encounters living examples of vice, as well as of virtue, to inspire him.”
“Failure at a task may be the result of having tackled it at the wrong time.”
“Scream at God if that's the only thing that will get results.”
“Nothing hurts more than the friendly letter that one never got around to writing.”
“Ninety-seven saint days a year wouldn't affect the theater, but two Yom Kippurs would ruin it.”
“I never felt so much at home as I do in New York. I must be a devil.”
“Other people have a nationality. The Irish and the Jews have a psychosis.”
“There is no such thing as bad publicity except your own obituary.”
“If it was raining soup, the Irish would go out with forks.”
Source: The wit of Brendan Behan
“I have never seen a situation so dismal that a policeman couldn't make it worse.”
“What the hell difference does it make, left or right? There were good men lost on both sides.”
Source: Behan Complete Plays
“Every cripple has his own way of walking.”
Source: The Hostage
“They took away our land, our language, and our religion; but they could never harness our tongues.”
“I only take a drink on two occasions - when I'm thirsty and when I'm not.”
“I saw a notice that said "Drink Canada Dry" and I've just started.”
“To get enough to eat was regarded as an achievement. To get drunk was a victory.”
Source: The wit of Brendan Behan
“Message? What the hell do you think I am, a bloody postman?”