Behan, Brendan (bē`hăn), 1923–64, Irish dramatist. A notoriously outspoken and uninhibited man, he joined the Irish Republican Army in 1937 and was twice imprisoned for political offenses. His first play, The Quare Fellow (1956), a grimly comic drama set in the hours preceding a prison hanging, was followed by The Hostage (1958), a song and dance farce set in a brothel. Brendan Behan's Island: an Irish Sketch-Book (1962) is a miscellaneous collection.

Bibliography

See his autobiographical Borstal Boy (1958); biographies by his brother Dominic Behan (1966) and U. O'Connor (1971).

Behan, Brendan (Francis)

(born Feb. 9, 1923, Dublin, Ire.—died March 20, 1964, Dublin) Irish author. An alcoholic from age eight and an anti-English rebel, he was repeatedly arrested. Borstal Boy (1958) is an account of his detention in an English reform school, which combines earthy satire and powerful political commentary. His first play, The Quare Fellow (1954), is an explosive statement on capital punishment and prison life. His second, The Hostage (produced 1958), is considered his masterwork. He also wrote poetry, short stories, radio scripts, anecdotes, memoirs, and a novel.

Behan, Brendan

(1923–1964) uninhibited Irish playwright who lived wildly. [Irish Lit.: NCE, 261]

See : Debauchery