 |
Brendan BehanIrish playwright
Date of Birth: 09.02.1923
Country:  Ireland |
Content:
Biography of Brendan Behan
Brendan Francis Behan was an Irish poet, writer, novelist, and playwright who wrote in both the Irish and English languages. He was also an Irish nationalist and a voluntary member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
Early Life
Brendan Francis Behan was born on February 9, 1923, in central Dublin, to a working-class family. He lived in a house on Russell Street, owned by his grandmother Christine English, who had some property in the area. His uncle Peadar Kearney, the author of the Irish national anthem, lived nearby. Brendan's father, Stephen Behan, was a painter and an active participant in the Irish War of Independence. Instead of reading fairy tales, he would read his sons works of classic literature by Émile Zola, John Galsworthy, and Guy de Maupassant. Their mother, Kathleen Behan, took them on literary walks around the city. While Brendan's father fostered his literary tastes, his mother fostered his interest in politics. She remained politically active throughout her life and was a close friend of Irish republican Michael Collins. In 1984, with the help of her son Brian Behan, she published an autobiography titled "Mother of All The Behans." Brendan's younger brother Dominic Behan became a famous songwriter, while his other brother Brian was a well-known radical political activist, talented orator, actor, writer, and playwright. They often clashed with Brendan, especially on political and nationalist issues.
Writing Career and Political Involvement
Brendan Behan tried alcohol at a young age, and it eventually became his downfall. Biographer Ulick O'Connor recounted that once, when eight-year-old Brendan was returning home with his grandmother, someone became alarmed and said, "Oh, my God! Isn't it terrible, ma'am, to see such a beautiful child crippled?" To which she replied, "How dare you? He's not crippled, he's just drunk!" In 1931, at the age of thirteen, Brendan became the youngest published author in Ireland when his poem "Reply of Young Boy to Pro-English verses" was printed. At sixteen, Behan dropped out of school and worked as a painter. The following year, he joined the youth organization Fianna Éireann and started publishing his first poems and prose in the organization's magazine. At sixteen, Behan became a member of the IRA and, fueled by enthusiasm, secretly traveled to Liverpool to plant explosives. Fortunately, he was arrested before carrying out the act, and the explosives were confiscated. The young terrorist was sentenced to three years in prison, so he did not return home until 1941. He described this time in his autobiography. In 1942, Behan was imprisoned again, this time for attempting to murder two detectives in Dublin during a commemoration ceremony for Wolfe Tone, the father of Irish republicanism. He was sentenced to fourteen years but was released in 1946 due to an amnesty. After serving another short term for attempting to organize an escape for a fellow republican from a Manchester prison, Behan left the IRA but maintained friendly relationships with its leaders.
Later Life and Legacy
Brendan Behan devoted the remaining years of his life to his writing. He drew on his experiences in prison, writing poetry, short stories, novels, and plays. In the early 1950s, Behan lived in Paris and, although he continued to drink heavily, managed to make a living. Upon returning to Ireland, he made an effort to incorporate some semblance of self-discipline into his life, as he still aspired to achieve success. Behan would wake up at seven in the morning and write until noon. At noon, the bars would open, and he would move there. He wrote for several newspapers and magazines, including the Irish Times. A radio adaptation of one of his plays aired, and in the late 1950s, Behan's plays reached the West End and Broadway. In 1955, Behan married artist Beatrice Salkeld, and in 1963, they had a daughter. However, his love for his wife and daughter could not overcome his alcoholism, which had plagued him for many years. Towards the end of his life, Behan became a caricature of the perpetually drunk Irishman.
Brendan Behan passed away on March 20, 1964, at the age of 41, in a diabetic coma in a hospital. Thousands of people attended his funeral.
