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Dominic Behan ( ; ga, Doiminic Ó Beacháin; 22 October 1928 – 3 August 1989) was an Irish songwriter, singer, short story writer, novelist and playwright who wrote in Irish and English. He was also a socialist and an
Irish republican Irish republicanism ( ga, poblachtánachas Éireannach) is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate. The develop ...
. Born into the literary Behan family, he was one of the most influential Irish songwriters of the 20th century.


Biography


Early life

Behan was born in inner-city
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
into an educated working-class family. His father, Stephen Behan, fought for the
Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief t ...
(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 In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. During the life and minis ...
", who were responsible for the deaths of several officers from the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...
during the
Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and United Kingdom of Gre ...
. He was banned from a professional future career for refusing to swear allegiance to the
British Crown The Crown is the state (polity), state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, British Overseas Territories, overseas territories, Provinces and territorie ...
during the war of independence .


Republican and political activities

In 1937, the family moved to a new local council housing scheme in Crumlin. Here, Behan became a member of
Fianna Éireann Na Fianna Éireann (The Fianna of Ireland), known as the Fianna, is an Irish nationalist youth organisation founded by Constance Markievicz in 1909, with later help from Bulmer Hobson. Fianna members were involved in setting up the Irish ...
, the youth organisation of the IRA and published his first poems and prose in the organisation's magazine ''Fianna: the Voice of Young Ireland''. In 1952, Behan was arrested in
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
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, Behan moved to Scotland for a time, living with the Scottish poet Hugh MacDiarmid in the South-side of
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...
; Behan always credited MacDiarmid with much of his early development as a writer, coming to view verse as a more agile medium for his thoughts at that time – it would only be some years later that Behan would write his first play. Whilst living with MacDiarmid, Behan became involved in what is now known as the " Scottish Republican Army", channelling arms from the IRA with whom he had historical links to the SRA. It was during this time that Behan met his future wife, Josephine Quinn, the daughter of John Quinn, a cabinet maker and part-time journalist from Glasgow, and Bridget Quinn who ran a safe house for various revolutionary organisations. It was in Bridget Quinn's house that Behan was first introduced to Josephine Quinn, who married Behan in 1955. Behan migrated to London, where he found work with the BBC, writing radio scripts, mainly for the Third Programme. His play ''Posterity Be Damned'', produced in the
Gaiety Theatre, Dublin 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 In April 1871, the brot ...
, 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 from the Observer theatre critic Kenneth Tynan, who was uncharacteristically effusive in his praise); the book was subsequently dramatised for television in 1977 by
RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while ...
. His autobiography, ''Tell Dublin I Miss Her'', was also published in 1961 and sold well in the USA. A biography of his brother entitled ''My Brother Brendan'' appeared in 1965, but due to a legal wrangle Behan received virtually none of the proceeds of this book. During the 1960s and 1970s Behan wrote almost 20 television plays for British television in showcases such as ''Play for Today'' and ''Armchair Theatre''. One of these plays, ''The Folk Singer'' (1972) – a story that focused on the sectarian roots of the Northern Ireland conflict, was restructured for the theatre and presented during the height of the Troubles at Belfast's Lyric Theatre starring a young Scottish actor
Ken Stott Kenneth Campbell Stott (born 19 October 1954) is a Scottish stage, television and film actor who won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 1995 in the play '' Broken Glass'' at Royal National Theatre. He portrayed t ...
. Also during the late sixties and into the early 1970s, along with writing many TV plays, poems and songs, Behan worked with the leadership of the Official IRA to raise funds (mostly raised during extended lecture tours in the United States) to establish a permanent summer school in Mornington (Co. Meath) the aim of which was to bring Protestant and Catholic working class youths together in an adventure setting intended to break down sectarian barriers by fostering team work. The school ran courses every year through most of the 1970s and was a tribute to Behan's belief that the troubles in Northern Ireland would be resolved only by dialogue and respect. Behan was a 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 screenwriter who produced the script for the film ''
Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat * Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place. Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Antarctica *King George Island (S ...
''. Behan also found time to work in education, having been identified by the Strathclyde Region education dept as the "Writer in residence" for the Region's secondary schools. Behan enjoyed this role for more than five years, Behan always expressed a conviction that the youth were worth investing in and the role with Strathclyde Region allowed him to reach out and help aspiring talent get recognition and encouragement. Through relationships with various people in the music industry including Phil Solomon (one of the owners of Radio Caroline), Behan found himself to be often involved in helping performing artists (e.g.
The Dubliners The Dubliners were an Folk music of Ireland, Irish folk band founded in Dublin in 1962 as The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group, named after its founding member; they subsequently renamed themselves The Dubliners. The line-up saw many changes in personn ...
, David McWilliams,
Christy Moore Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Ireland, Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his significant success as an individual, he is one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts. His first ...
and many others) to develop their acts, establish an appreciation of stage craft and (especially so in the case of The Dubliners) write material. In this way, Behan made some long-lasting friendships that spanned musical genres and included friendships with Eric Burdon, Jimi Hendrix, Chas Chandler and many other artists.


Songwriting

Arguably, it was as a songwriter that Behan excelled. He was a prolific composer and had more than 450 songs published during his lifetime, though undoubtedly wrote many more. Many of his songs were very popular in Ireland and among the Irish living in Britain and elsewhere, especially " The Patriot Game", " McAlpine's Fusiliers" (originally written by Martin Henry but adapted by Behan), "Avondale", and "Liverpool Lou". In 1958, he released ''The Singing Streets: Childhood Memories of Ireland and Scotland'' on
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 The Folkways Records & Servic ...
along with fellow folksinger
Ewan MacColl James Henry Miller (25 January 1915 – 22 October 1989), better known by his stage name Ewan MacColl, was a folk singer-songwriter, folk song collector, labour activist and actor. Born in England to Scottish parents, he is known as one of the ...
with whom he collaborated for a number of years. Behan, who was unequivocal in the defence of his copyright, publicly accused
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
of plagiarizing "The Patriot Game" in writing his own "
With God on Our Side With God on our side may also refer to: * ''With God On Our Side'' (film) (2010), a documentary about Christian Zionism * "God on Our Side", title of Episode 25 of ''Revelations – The Initial Journey'' (2002) * "With God on Our Side" (song), a s ...
". In 2009 ''The Patriot Game'' from ''Easter Week and After: Songs of the IRA'' originally issued by
Topic Topic, topics, TOPIC, topical, or topicality may refer to: Topic / Topics * Topić, a Slavic surname * ''Topics'' (Aristotle), a work by Aristotle * Topic (chocolate bar), a brand of confectionery bar * Topic (DJ), German musician * Topic ...
in 1960 was included in their 70-year anniversary boxed set '' Three Score and Ten'' as track twenty-two on the third CD.


Pop culture references

Dave Cousins Dave Cousins (born David Joseph Hindson; 7 January 1945) is an English musician who has been the leader, singer and most-active songwriter of Strawbs since 1967. Career Cousins is a founder member of the Strawbs, which started out as the Str ...
of the band
Strawbs Strawbs (or The Strawbs) are an English rock band founded in 1964 as the Strawberry Hill Boys. The band started out as a bluegrass group, but eventually moved on to other styles such as folk rock and progressive rock. They are best known ...
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. Bob Dylan's 1963 song "With God on our Side" uses the melody and narrative framework of Behan's "The Patriot Game", as well as being influenced by its theme. The melody, as Behan admitted during a correspondence in ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...
'' with Michael Grosvenor Myer, was actually derived and adapted from a version of the traditional song known as "The Nightingale", "The Grenadier and the Lady", "The Month of May", though had been significantly changed in both tempo and mood to serve the narrative of the song the Patriot Game. The Liverpool folk/poetry band
The Scaffold The Scaffold were a comedy, poetry and music trio from Liverpool, England, consisting of musical performer Mike McGear (real name Peter Michael McCartney, the brother of Paul McCartney), poet Roger McGough and comic entertainer John Gorman. ...
produced a version of Behan's song "Liverpool Lou" in 1974 which became a top 10 hit in the UK and spawned covers in various languages across Europe. On the original Scaffold pressing, the writing credits were incorrectly attributed to
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. On ...
who had produced the record on behalf of his brother Mike McGear; Behan advised the relevant authorities and had his rights to the song reinstated quickly receiving an apology from McCartney; Behan accepted McCartney's explanation that his mother had sung the song and he thought it was a traditional work. Later pressings of the song were then correctly credited to Behan; the early McCartney-labeled pressings are particularly rare and collectible. In a well-publicised interview,
John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
dismissed the 1960s folk scene in his own country, describing it as "College students with pints of beer going hay-nonny nonny" but in the same breath, he praised Behan, from neighbouring Ireland, whom he said he liked. On ''
Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (us ...
'' in 2007,
Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野 洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...
selected Behan's "Liverpool Lou" as her husband had sung it to their son as a lullaby.Yoko Ono on ''Desert Island Discs''
, 10 June 2007. Behan is discussed briefly in Bob Dylan's documentary film '' Dont Look Back'' but it is clear that the enmity between them was palpable. Behan held a number of artists in contempt, particularly when they changed the lyrics of his works to mitigate political embarrassment; for example Behan had a well-publicised spat with Liam Clancy whose recording of "The Patriot Game" omitted the verse in which Behan blamed
Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (, ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was a prominent Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of governm ...
for the long-term unrest in the six counties of Northern Ireland. Behan took the view that almost all of his work was written to make some form of social, historical or political statement and should either be used as an entire piece of work or not at all. The relationship between Behan and Clancy was never repaired.


Behan's death

Dominic Behan died at home in Glasgow, aged 60, on 3 August 1989 of complications arising from
pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a mass. These cancerous cells have the ability to invade other parts of the body. A number of types of panc ...
, shortly after the publication of his critically acclaimed novel ''The Public World of Parable Jones''. He was survived by his widow Josephine and two sons, Fintan and Stephen. He was cremated in Glasgow 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 Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 cens ...
TD
Tomás MacGiolla Tomás may refer to: * Tomás (given name) * Tomás (surname) Tomás is a Spanish and Portuguese surname, equivalent of ''Thomas''. It may refer to: * Antonio Tomás (born 1985), professional Spanish footballer * Belarmino Tomás (1892–1950), ...
. His oration was given by his lifelong friend Seán Garland, general secretary of the Workers' Party of which Behan had been a staunch supporter for many years.


Works


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)


Discography

*1 1958 Irish Songs (Recalled) 10" Topic 10T28 *2 1958 The Singing Streets: Childhood Memories Of Ireland and Scotland LP Folkways FW 8501 issued on Topic 12T41 in 1959 as 'Streets of Songs' (
Ewan MacColl James Henry Miller (25 January 1915 – 22 October 1989), better known by his stage name Ewan MacColl, was a folk singer-songwriter, folk song collector, labour activist and actor. Born in England to Scottish parents, he is known as one of the ...
and Dominic Behan) *3 1958 Easter Monday, 1916 Songs of the I.R.A. (Irish Republican Army) LP Riverside 12-820 US release (Recorded Nov. 1957) *4 1959 Finnegan's Wake EP Collector JEI 1 *5 1959 McCafferty EP Collector JEI 2 *6 1959 Songs Of The Street EP Collector JEI 3 *7 1959 Mrs Holligan's Christmas Cake EP Collector JEI 4 *8 1960 Finnegan's Wake & Other Irish Folk Songs LP Folk-Lyric FL 113 his is a US release (Side A is Collector EPs JEI 1/2; Side B is Collector EPs JEI 3/4) *9 1959 The Bells of Hell 7" Decca 45-F 11147 *10 1959 Down By The Liffeyside LP Topic 12T35 w/ Peggy Seeger and Leon Rosselson *11 1960 The Irish Rover LP Folklore F-LEUT-2 *12 1960 The Patriot Game 7" Topic STOP 115 *13 1960 Easter Week And After: Songs of the IRA LP Topic 12T44 As Riverside LP, but drops 4 tracks. Add 4 different tracks. *14 1962 Cosmopolitan Man LP Folklore F-LEUT-4 *15 1963 Peelers And Prisoners EP Topic TOP 85 *16 1963 Irish Rebel Songs LP Ace of Clubs ACL-1136 Enoch Kent/Diarmuid O'Neill/Patrick O'Malley (O'Neill/O'Malley are Dominic Behan!) *17 1964 Dominic Takes The Floor EP Topic TOP 101 *18 1964 Liverpool Lou - EP EP Piccadilly NEP 34040 EP *19 1964 Liverpool Lou - single 7" Piccadilly 7N.35172 #8 in Ireland in May 1964, #7 in UK in June 1974 for
The Scaffold The Scaffold were a comedy, poetry and music trio from Liverpool, England, consisting of musical performer Mike McGear (real name Peter Michael McCartney, the brother of Paul McCartney), poet Roger McGough and comic entertainer John Gorman. ...
(Warners K 16400) *20 1964 When I'm Twenty 7" Piccadilly 7N.35198 *21 1965
Arkle Arkle (19 April 1957 – 31 May 1970) was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. A bay gelding by ''Archive'' out of ''Bright Cherry'', he was the grandson of the unbeaten (in 14 races) flat racehorse and prepotent sire Nearco. Arkle was bred by Mar ...
LP Marble Arch MAL 1123 *22 1965 Ireland Sings LP Pye NPL 18134 *23 1965 Folksound of Britain LP HMV CLP 1910 ominic Behan was MC for this live concert*24 1966 Rebellion LP Pye NPL 18139 *25 1967 Dominic Behan LP Major Minor MMLP6 *26 1972 Unity Creates Strength LP Nevis NEV R007 one track - Connolly Was There plus Finale (all feature) *27 1975 A Better Class of Folk LP Lismor LILP 5022 with Mike Whellans, Iain MacKintosh, Billy Davidson & Allan Barty *28 2000 Sing Christmas & The Turn Of The Year CD Rounder ROUN1850 one track with the Hollinwood Girls Choir (T'was Mary Conceived) year -1957


Songs

*"Arkle" *"Avondale" *"Building Up and Tearing England Down" *"
Come Out Ye Black and Tans Come may refer to: *Comè, a city and commune in Benin *Come (Tenos), an ancient town on Tenos island, Greece Music *Come (American band), an American indie rock band formed in 1990 *Come (UK band), a British noise project founded in 1979 **Come ...
" *"Connolly Will Be There" *"Hand me Down me Petticoat" *"Liverpool Lou" *"Maloney Wants a Drink" *" McAlpine's Fusiliers" *"The Merry Ploughboy" *"Our Last Hope" *"Paddy on the Road" *" The Patriot Game" *" The Sea Around Us" *" Take It Down from the Mast"


Standalone poems

*"Bás, Fás, Blás"


References


External links


Dominic Behan Collection
at the
Harry Ransom Center The Harry Ransom Center (until 1983 the Humanities Research Center) is an archive, library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe for the pu ...
*
''The Singing Streets: Childhood Memories of Ireland and Scotland'' Album Details
at
Smithsonian Folkways Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was fou ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Behan, Dominic 1928 births 1989 deaths Writers from Dublin (city) Irish male dramatists and playwrights Irish socialists Irish male songwriters Irish Republican Army (1922–1969) members Deaths from pancreatic cancer Deaths from cancer in Scotland House painters Irish-language writers 20th-century Irish novelists 20th-century Irish male writers 20th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights Irish male novelists Micronational leaders Topic Records artists