Brendan Behan was born in Dublin in 1923. He served in Borstal (juvenile prison) for his activities in the IRA, and his experiences formed the background for his most important work. His published plays are The Quare Fellow, first produced in The Pike Theatre, Dublin (London, Metheun, 1956); Borstal Boy (London, Corgi Books, 1958); The Hostage (Methuen, 1959); The Complete Plays (New York, Grove Press, 1978); and Poems and a Play in Irish (Oldcastle, Gallery Books, 1981). His prose includes Brendan Behan's Island - An Irish Sketchbook (London, Hutchinson, 1962); Brendan Behan's New York (Hutchinson, 1964). His posthumous publications include Hold Your Hour and Have Another (Hutchinson); The Scarperer (Hutchinson); Moving Out and A Garden Party (Proscenium Press); Confessions of an Irish Rebel( Hutchinson, 1965); After the Wake (New York, Devin-Adair,1983); The Letters of Brendan Behan (McGill Queens Univ Press, 1992); The King of Ireland's Son (Orchard Books, 1996); and The Dubbalin Man (A&A Farmar, 1998). He died in Dublin in March 1964.

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