Brendan Francis Aidan Behan[1] (christened Francis Behan)[2]
(/ˈbiË É™n/ BEE-É™n; Irish: Breandán Ã" Beacháin; 9 February 1923
â€" 20 March 1964) was an Irish 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 of all time.[3]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 Éireann at the age of fourteen.
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. Behan eventually joined the IRA at sixteen, which
led to his serving time in a borstal youth prison in the United
Kingdom and he was also imprisoned in Ireland. During this time, he
took it upon himself to study and he became a fluent speaker of the
Irish language. Subsequently released from prison as part of a general
amnesty given by the Fianna Fáil government in 1946, Behan moved
between homes in Dublin, Kerry and Connemara, and also resided in
Paris for a time.In 1954, Behan's first play The Quare Fellow, was
produced in Dublin. It was well received; however, it was the 1956
production at Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop in Stratford, London,
that gained Behan a wider reputation. This was helped by a famous
drunken interview on BBC television with Malcolm Muggeridge. In 1958,
Behan's play in the Irish language An Giall had its debut at Dublin's
Damer Theatre. Later, The Hostage, Behan's English-language adaptation
of An Giall, met with great success internationally. Behan's
autobiographical novel, Borstal Boy, was published the same year and
became a worldwide best-seller and by 1955, Behan had married Beatrice
Ffrench Salkeld, with whom he later had a daughter Blanaid Behan in
1963.
(/ˈbiË É™n/ BEE-É™n; Irish: Breandán Ã" Beacháin; 9 February 1923
â€" 20 March 1964) was an Irish 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 of all time.[3]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 Éireann at the age of fourteen.
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. Behan eventually joined the IRA at sixteen, which
led to his serving time in a borstal youth prison in the United
Kingdom and he was also imprisoned in Ireland. During this time, he
took it upon himself to study and he became a fluent speaker of the
Irish language. Subsequently released from prison as part of a general
amnesty given by the Fianna Fáil government in 1946, Behan moved
between homes in Dublin, Kerry and Connemara, and also resided in
Paris for a time.In 1954, Behan's first play The Quare Fellow, was
produced in Dublin. It was well received; however, it was the 1956
production at Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop in Stratford, London,
that gained Behan a wider reputation. This was helped by a famous
drunken interview on BBC television with Malcolm Muggeridge. In 1958,
Behan's play in the Irish language An Giall had its debut at Dublin's
Damer Theatre. Later, The Hostage, Behan's English-language adaptation
of An Giall, met with great success internationally. Behan's
autobiographical novel, Borstal Boy, was published the same year and
became a worldwide best-seller and by 1955, Behan had married Beatrice
Ffrench Salkeld, with whom he later had a daughter Blanaid Behan in
1963.
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