Dominic Behan
Encyclopedia
Dominic Behan was an Irish
songwriter, short story writer, novelist and playwright who wrote in both Irish and English. He was also a committed socialist and Irish Republican. Born into a literary family, Dominic Behan was one of the most influential Irish songwriters of the 20th century.
, fought for the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in the Anglo-Irish War. Dominic was the brother of Brendan Behan
. His mother, Kathleen, a collector of songs and stories, took the boys on literary tours of the city. Behan's maternal uncle, Peadar Kearney
, wrote "A Soldier's Song", the song the Irish National Anthem
was based on. Another brother, Brian
was also a playwright and writer.
At the age of thirteen, Dominic left school to follow in his father's footsteps in the housepainting business. The family house in which Behan lived was the property of Christine English, Dominic's grandmother, who owned several properties in the city. His father Stephen, was a member of the IRA and had been one of Michael Collins'
"Twelve Apostles", who were responsible for the deaths of several officers from the British Army
during the Irish War of Independence
. He was banned from a professional future career for refusing to swear allegiance to the British Crown after the Irish civil war
.
. Here, Behan became a member of Fianna Éireann
, the youth organization of the IRA and published his first poems and prose in the organization's magazine Fianna: the Voice of Young Ireland. In 1952, Behan was arrested in Dublin for leading a civil disobedience campaign in protest against the ruling government's failure to tackle unemployment and other critical economic issues. Behan was subsequently jailed for his part in other campaigns protesting the government's treatment of the working class in Ireland.
. The Quinns were active in the Communist Party
and other left-wing organisations in Glasgow. They emigrated to England where Behan had been working for the BBC, writing radio scripts, mainly for the Third Programme. His play Posterity Be Damned, produced in the Gaiety Theatre
, Dublin, in 1959, dealt with republican activity after the Civil War of 1922–23. An autobiographical novel Teems of Times (1961) was received to critical acclaim, particularly by Kenneth Tynan
, and dramatized on television in 1977 by RTÉ. His autobiography, Tell Dublin I Miss Her, was also published in 1961. A biography of his brother, Brendan Behan
, appeared in 1965, My Brother Brendan.
During the 1960s and 1970s Behan wrote a number of television plays for British television in showcases such as Play for Today and Armchair Theatre. One of these plays, The Folk Singer (1972), was restructured for the theatre and presented during the height of the Troubles at Belfast's Lyric Theatre starring a young Ken Stott
.
Arguably, it was as a songwriter that Behan excelled. He was a prolific composer and had more than 450 songs published during his lifetime. His songs were very popular in Ireland and also among the Irish living in England, especially "The Patriot Game
", "McAlpine's Fusiliers", "Avondale", and "Liverpool Lou". In 1958, he released The Singing Streets: Childhood Memories of Ireland and Scotland on Folkways Records
along with fellow folksinger Ewan MacColl.
Some of his songs have been translated into Norwegian. Liverpool Lou is known in the city of Bergen as Jenter fra Bergen. Surrounded by Water is also known in Bergen as Omgitt av fjeller. The Norwegian translations were done by singer-songwriter Fred Ove Reksten, a friend of Behan, who gave permission for the Norwegian versions to be recorded by the folk group The Bergeners. Musicians Björn Alling and Conny Olsson from Linköping, Sweden are currently working on a translation of "Patriot Game" into their native tongue.
Contrary to rumours posted previously to this page, Behan did not at any time attend any seat of higher learning. He was a largely self educated man whose intellect was such that he numbered many respected thinkers among his friends including the likes of Hugh MacDiarmid
the Scots poet with whom he lived for three years, Louis MacNeice
who became for a time a writing partner - mostly for the BBC overseas program and H.A.L. Craig the screen writer who produced the script for the film of Waterloo.
wrote his song "Josephine, For Better Or For Worse" in honour of Josephine and Dominic Behan. This song has been recorded several times, the best known version is on the album "Dragonfly" by Strawbs in 1970.
In a well publicised interview, John Lennon
dismissed the folk scene in his own country, England, yet praised Behan, from neighbouring Ireland, whom he said he liked. On a recent Desert Island Discs
, Yoko Ono
selected Behan's "Liverpool Lou" as her husband had sung it to their son as a lullaby.
, aged 60, on 3 August 1989 of pancreatic cancer
, shortly after the publication of his critically acclaimed novel The Public World of Parable Jones. He was survived by his widow and two sons, Fintan and Stephen. He was cremated, and his ashes were scattered at the Royal Canal, Dublin near his birthplace by May MacGiolla the wife of the Workers' Party of Ireland
Dublin West
TD
Tomas MacGiolla
. His oration was given by his longtime friend Seán Garland
, General Secretary of the Workers' Party
of which Behan had been a staunch supporter for many years.
Irish literature
For a comparatively small island, Ireland has made a disproportionately large contribution to world literature. Irish literature encompasses the Irish and English languages.-The beginning of writing in Irish:...
songwriter, short story writer, novelist and playwright who wrote in both Irish and English. He was also a committed socialist and Irish Republican. Born into a literary family, Dominic Behan was one of the most influential Irish songwriters of the 20th century.
Early life
Behan was born in inner-city Dublin into an educated working class family. His father, Stephen BehanStephen Behan
Stephen Behan was an Irish republican who was father of writers Brendan, Brian and Dominic Behan.Behan lived in a house in Russell Street on the Northside of Dublin which belonged to his mother Christine English, who owned a number of properties in the area...
, fought for the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in the Anglo-Irish War. Dominic was the brother of Brendan Behan
Brendan Behan
Brendan Francis Behan was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, and playwright who wrote in both Irish and English. He was also an Irish republican and a volunteer in the Irish Republican Army.-Early life:...
. His mother, Kathleen, a collector of songs and stories, took the boys on literary tours of the city. Behan's maternal uncle, Peadar Kearney
Peadar Kearney
Peadar Kearney was an Irish republican and composer of numerous rebel songs. In 1907 he wrote the lyrics to "The Soldier's Song" , now the Irish national anthem.-Background:...
, wrote "A Soldier's Song", the song the Irish National Anthem
Amhrán na bhFiann
is the national anthem of Ireland. The music was composed by Peadar Kearney and Patrick Heeney, and the original English lyrics were authored by Kearney. It is sung in the Irish language translation made by Liam Ó Rinn. The song has three verses, but the national anthem consists of the chorus only...
was based on. Another brother, Brian
Brian Behan
Brian Behan was an Irish writer and trade unionist.Behan was born in Dublin, the son of Stephen Behan, younger brother of Brendan Behan and older brother of Dominic Behan...
was also a playwright and writer.
At the age of thirteen, Dominic left school to follow in his father's footsteps in the housepainting business. The family house in which Behan lived was the property of Christine English, Dominic's grandmother, who owned several properties in the city. His father Stephen, was a member of the IRA and had been one of Michael Collins'
Michael Collins (Irish leader)
Michael "Mick" Collins was an Irish revolutionary leader, Minister for Finance and Teachta Dála for Cork South in the First Dáil of 1919, Director of Intelligence for the IRA, and member of the Irish delegation during the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations. Subsequently, he was both Chairman of the...
"Twelve Apostles", who were responsible for the deaths of several officers from the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
during the Irish War of Independence
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...
. He was banned from a professional future career for refusing to swear allegiance to the British Crown after the Irish civil war
Irish Civil War
The Irish Civil War was a conflict that accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State as an entity independent from the United Kingdom within the British Empire....
.
Republican and political activities
In 1937, the family moved to a new local authority housing scheme in CrumlinCrumlin, Dublin
Crumlin is suburb in Southside Dublin, Ireland. It is the site of Ireland's largest hospital for children.-Location:Crumlin covers the area from the River Poddle near the KCR to the Drimnagh Road, to Bunting Road, and is situated not far from the city centre, on the Southside of Dublin city....
. Here, Behan became a member of Fianna Éireann
Fianna Éireann
The name Fianna Éireann , also written Fianna na hÉireann and Na Fianna Éireann , has been used by various Irish republican youth movements throughout the 20th and 21st centuries...
, the youth organization of the IRA and published his first poems and prose in the organization's magazine Fianna: the Voice of Young Ireland. In 1952, Behan was arrested in Dublin for leading a civil disobedience campaign in protest against the ruling government's failure to tackle unemployment and other critical economic issues. Behan was subsequently jailed for his part in other campaigns protesting the government's treatment of the working class in Ireland.
Behan, the writer
On release from jail, Dominic Behan married Josephine Quinn, the daughter of John Quinn, a cabinet maker from GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. The Quinns were active in the Communist Party
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
and other left-wing organisations in Glasgow. They emigrated to England where Behan had been working for the BBC, writing radio scripts, mainly for the Third Programme. His play Posterity Be Damned, produced in the Gaiety Theatre
Gaiety Theatre
The Gaiety Theatre is a theatre on South King Street in Dublin, Ireland, off Grafton Street and close to St. Stephen's Green. It specialises in operatic and musical productions, with occasional dramatic shows.-History:Designed by architect C.J...
, Dublin, in 1959, dealt with republican activity after the Civil War of 1922–23. An autobiographical novel Teems of Times (1961) was received to critical acclaim, particularly by Kenneth Tynan
Kenneth Tynan
Kenneth Peacock Tynan was an influential and often controversial English theatre critic and writer.-Early life:...
, and dramatized on television in 1977 by RTÉ. His autobiography, Tell Dublin I Miss Her, was also published in 1961. A biography of his brother, Brendan Behan
Brendan Behan
Brendan Francis Behan was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, and playwright who wrote in both Irish and English. He was also an Irish republican and a volunteer in the Irish Republican Army.-Early life:...
, appeared in 1965, My Brother Brendan.
During the 1960s and 1970s Behan wrote a number of television plays for British television in showcases such as Play for Today and Armchair Theatre. One of these plays, The Folk Singer (1972), was restructured for the theatre and presented during the height of the Troubles at Belfast's Lyric Theatre starring a young Ken Stott
Ken Stott
Kenneth Campbell "Ken" Stott is a Scottish actor, particularly known in the United Kingdom for his many roles in television.-Early life:...
.
Arguably, it was as a songwriter that Behan excelled. He was a prolific composer and had more than 450 songs published during his lifetime. His songs were very popular in Ireland and also among the Irish living in England, especially "The Patriot Game
The Patriot Game
"The Patriot Game" is an Irish ballad about an incident during the Border Campaign launched by the Irish Republican Army during the 1950s to bring about the reunification of Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland. It was written by Dominic Behan, younger brother of playwright Brendan...
", "McAlpine's Fusiliers", "Avondale", and "Liverpool Lou". In 1958, he released The Singing Streets: Childhood Memories of Ireland and Scotland on Folkways Records
Folkways Records
Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987, and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways.-History:...
along with fellow folksinger Ewan MacColl.
Some of his songs have been translated into Norwegian. Liverpool Lou is known in the city of Bergen as Jenter fra Bergen. Surrounded by Water is also known in Bergen as Omgitt av fjeller. The Norwegian translations were done by singer-songwriter Fred Ove Reksten, a friend of Behan, who gave permission for the Norwegian versions to be recorded by the folk group The Bergeners. Musicians Björn Alling and Conny Olsson from Linköping, Sweden are currently working on a translation of "Patriot Game" into their native tongue.
Contrary to rumours posted previously to this page, Behan did not at any time attend any seat of higher learning. He was a largely self educated man whose intellect was such that he numbered many respected thinkers among his friends including the likes of Hugh MacDiarmid
Hugh MacDiarmid
Hugh MacDiarmid is the pen name of Christopher Murray Grieve , a significant Scottish poet of the 20th century. He was instrumental in creating a Scottish version of modernism and was a leading light in the Scottish Renaissance of the 20th century...
the Scots poet with whom he lived for three years, Louis MacNeice
Louis MacNeice
Frederick Louis MacNeice CBE was an Irish poet and playwright. He was part of the generation of "thirties poets" which included W. H. Auden, Stephen Spender and Cecil Day-Lewis; nicknamed "MacSpaunday" as a group — a name invented by Roy Campbell, in his Talking Bronco...
who became for a time a writing partner - mostly for the BBC overseas program and H.A.L. Craig the screen writer who produced the script for the film of Waterloo.
Pop culture references
Dave CousinsDave Cousins
Dave Cousins has been the leader, singer and most active songwriter of Strawbs since 1967.-Career:...
wrote his song "Josephine, For Better Or For Worse" in honour of Josephine and Dominic Behan. This song has been recorded several times, the best known version is on the album "Dragonfly" by Strawbs in 1970.
In a well publicised interview, John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
dismissed the folk scene in his own country, England, yet praised Behan, from neighbouring Ireland, whom he said he liked. On a recent Desert Island Discs
Desert Island Discs
Desert Island Discs is a BBC Radio 4 programme first broadcast on 29 January 1942. It is the second longest-running radio programme , and is the longest-running factual programme in the history of radio...
, Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
selected Behan's "Liverpool Lou" as her husband had sung it to their son as a lullaby.
Behan's death
Dominic died at home in GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, aged 60, on 3 August 1989 of pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer refers to a malignant neoplasm of the pancreas. The most common type of pancreatic cancer, accounting for 95% of these tumors is adenocarcinoma, which arises within the exocrine component of the pancreas. A minority arises from the islet cells and is classified as a...
, shortly after the publication of his critically acclaimed novel The Public World of Parable Jones. He was survived by his widow and two sons, Fintan and Stephen. He was cremated, and his ashes were scattered at the Royal Canal, Dublin near his birthplace by May MacGiolla the wife of the Workers' Party of Ireland
Workers' Party of Ireland
The Workers' Party is a left-wing republican political party in Ireland. Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970 after a split within the party, adopting its current name in 1982....
Dublin West
Dublin West
Dublin West is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects 4 deputies...
TD
TD
TD may stand for:* Atlantis European Airways IATA designator* MG TD Midget, a car manufactured in the United Kingdom between 1950 and 1953* TD, an ITU prefix assigned to Guatemala * T.D...
Tomas MacGiolla
Tomás MacGiolla
Tomás Mac Giolla was an Irish politician. He was a Teachta Dála and a member of the Central Executive Committee of the Workers' Party of Ireland.-Early life:...
. His oration was given by his longtime friend Seán Garland
Seán Garland
Seán Garland is a former President of the Workers' Party in Ireland.-Early Life:Born at Belvedere Place, off Mountjoy Square in Dublin, Garland joined the Irish Republican Army in 1953. In 1954, he briefly joined the British Army as an IRA agent and collected intelligence on Gough Barracks in...
, General Secretary of the Workers' Party
Workers' Party of Ireland
The Workers' Party is a left-wing republican political party in Ireland. Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970 after a split within the party, adopting its current name in 1982....
of which Behan had been a staunch supporter for many years.
Plays
- Posterity Be Damned (1959)
- The Folk Singer (1969)
- Ireland Mother Ireland (1969)
- Tell Dublin I Miss Her (1998)
Books
- Teems of Times (1961)
- Tell Dublin I Miss Her (1961)
- My Brother Brendan (1965)
- Ireland Sings! (1966)
- The Singing Irish (1969)
- The Life and Times of Spike Milligan (1987)
- The Public World of Parable Jones (1988)
- The Catacombs (1989)
Songs
- "The Auld TriangleThe Auld Triangle"The Auld Triangle" is a song written by Dominic Behan for his brother Brendan Behan and is featured in Brendan's play The Quare Fellow. It is used to introduce the play, a story about the occurrences in a prison the day a convict is set to be executed...
" - "Avondale"
- "Come Out Ye Black and TansCome out Ye Black and Tans"Come Out, Ye Black and Tans" is an Irish rebel song referring to the Black and Tans, the British paramilitary police auxiliary force in Ireland during the 1920s. The song was written by Dominic Behan as a tribute to his father Stephen; often authorship of the song is attributed to Stephen...
" - "Connolly Will Be There"
- "Liverpool Lou"
- "McAlpine's Fusiliers"
- "The Merry Ploughboy"
- "The Patriot GameThe Patriot Game"The Patriot Game" is an Irish ballad about an incident during the Border Campaign launched by the Irish Republican Army during the 1950s to bring about the reunification of Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland. It was written by Dominic Behan, younger brother of playwright Brendan...
" - "Take It Down from the MastTake It Down from the MastTake it Down from the Mast is an Irish Republican song written by Dominic Behan during the 1950s. Although it officially refers to the period of the Irish Civil War , it was written as a direct attack on those who acknowledged the Government of Ireland at the time of its writing.The flag in...
" - "Paddy On The Road"
- "Our last hope"
External links
- http://www.christymoore.com/discography/1.htm
- Dominic Behan sings "Liverpool Lou" (YouTube)
- "Our last hope" by Dominic Behan (YouTube)
- The Singing Streets: Childhood Memories of Ireland and Scotland Album Details at Smithsonian FolkwaysSmithsonian FolkwaysSmithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was founded in 1987 after the family of Moses Asch, founder of Folkways...