Compiled by Andrew Russell

SELECTION OF QUOTES:

‘I’m a drinker with writing problems.’
‘Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how it’s done, they’ve seen it done every day, but they’re unable to do it themselves.’
‘Since I was a child I’ve had a pathological horror of country people.’
‘limerick girls are very careful about keeping their legs shut, if not their mouths.’
‘The Irish are a very popular race – with themselves.’
‘The English are even more subtle liars than we are.’
‘I took up writing because it’s easier than house painting.’
‘The key to reading Ulysses is to treat it like a comedian – as a sort of gag book.’
‘The number of people who buy books in Ireland would not keep me in drink for the duration of the Sunday opening time.’
‘You wouldn’t want to be minding them poet fellows, they’re a dangerous clique be the best of times.’
‘There’s no bad publicity except an obituary.’

The Brendan Behan Quotation Book is a new collection of Brendan Behan’s best quotations and is being published to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the author’s death.