Brendan Behan

Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, and playwright (1923-1964)
Person human Q313063
Brendan Behan
New York World-Telegram and the Sun staff photographer: Albertin, Walter, photographer. · Public Domain · Wikimedia
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Brendan Behan was born on February 9, 1923 in Dublin[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] and died there on March 20, 1964[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][14]. He held Irish citizenship throughout his life. His spouse was Beatrice Behan, and he had two brothers, Brian Behan and Dominic Behan[15].

Behan worked as a writer, poet, journalist, songwriter, and playwright[16]. He studied at the Dublin Institute of Technology and focused his creative output on drama, literature, and poetry[16]. He died from diabetes.

Brendan Behan

Summary

Brendan Behan is a human[1]. His place of birth was Dublin[2]. He was born on February 9, 1923[3]. He passed away in Dublin[4]. He died on March 20, 1964[5]. He worked as a writer[6], poet[7], journalist[8], songwriter[9], and playwright[10]. He ranks in the top 0.68% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (1,170 views/month, #6,835 of 1,000,298).[11]

Key Facts

  • Brendan Behan was born in Dublin[2].
  • Brendan Behan died in Dublin[4].
  • Brendan Behan was born on February 9, 1923[3].
  • Brendan Behan died on March 20, 1964[5].
  • Burial took place at Glasnevin Cemetery[12].
  • Brendan Behan's father was Stephen Behan[13].
  • Brendan Behan's mother was Kathleen Behan[14].
  • Brendan Behan was married to Beatrice Behan[15].
  • Brendan Behan held citizenship in Ireland[16].
  • Brendan Behan's professions included writer[6].
  • Brendan Behan's professions included poet[7].
  • Brendan Behan's professions included journalist[8].
  • Brendan Behan worked as a songwriter[9].
  • Brendan Behan's professions included playwright[10].
  • Brendan Behan's field of work was drama[17].
  • Brendan Behan's field of work was literature[18].
  • Brendan Behan's field of work was poetry[19].
  • Brendan Behan was educated at Dublin Institute of Technology[20].
  • A notable work attributed to Brendan Behan is The Quare Fellow[21].
  • A notable work attributed to Brendan Behan is The Hostage[22].
  • A notable work attributed to Brendan Behan is Borstal Boy[23].
  • Brendan Behan is recorded as male[24].
  • Brendan Behan's instance of is recorded as human[25].
  • Brendan Behan's Commons category is recorded as Brendan Behan[26].
  • The cause of death was diabetes[27].

Product Details

The following facts are restated verbatim from public-domain and CC0 open-data sources — every line is independently verifiable against the named source's catalog.

MusicBrainz — CC0 open music encyclopedia

  • Type: Person[28]

  • Country: IE[29]

  • Began / founded: 1923-02-09[30]

  • Ended / dissolved: 1964-03-20[31]

  • MusicBrainz ID: d18ffad7-355c-40af-b754-01eb21e04d9f[32]

Body

Origins and Family

Born in Dublin[2], Brendan Behan… he was born on February 9, 1923[3]. His father was Stephen Behan[13]. His mother was Kathleen Behan[14].

Education

Brendan Behan's education included a stint at Dublin Institute of Technology[20].

Career and Affiliations

Recorded occupations include writer[6], poet[7], journalist[8], songwriter[9], and playwright[10]. Fields of work include drama[17], a literary mode[33]; literature[18], a type of arts[34]; and poetry[19], a literary form[35].

Works and Contributions

Notable works include The Quare Fellow[21], a literary work[36]; The Hostage[22], an adaptation[37]; and Borstal Boy[23], a written work[38].

Personal Life

Brendan Behan was married to Beatrice Behan[15].

Death and Burial

Brendan Behan died on March 20, 1964[5]. He passed away in Dublin[4]. The cause of death was diabetes[27]. He is buried at Glasnevin Cemetery[12].

Why It Matters

Brendan Behan ranks in the top 0.68% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (1,170 views/month, #6,835 of 1,000,298).[11] He has Wikipedia articles in 23 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[39] He is known by 23 alternative names across languages and contexts.[40]

He has been cited as an influence by Shane MacGowan[41], a musician[42], 1957–2023[43], of Ireland[44], specialised in music[45].

FAQs

Where was Brendan Behan born?

Brendan Behan was born in Dublin[2].

Where did Brendan Behan die?

Brendan Behan passed away in Dublin[4].

Who were Brendan Behan's parents?

Brendan Behan's father was Stephen Behan[13]. Brendan Behan's mother was Kathleen Behan[14].

Who was Brendan Behan married to?

Brendan Behan's spouses include Beatrice Behan[15].

What did Brendan Behan do for work?

Brendan Behan worked as writer[6], poet[7], journalist[8], songwriter[9], and playwright[10].

Where did Brendan Behan go to school?

Brendan Behan was educated at Dublin Institute of Technology[20].

Who did Brendan Behan influence?

Brendan Behan has been cited as an influence by Shane MacGowan[41].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [2] . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  2. [4] . Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1969–1978). Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  3. [24] . BnF authorities. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  4. [13] . wikidata.org.
  5. [14] . wikidata.org.
  6. [15] . wikidata.org.
  7. [16] . wikidata.org.
  8. [25] . BnF authorities. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  9. [20] . wikidata.org.
  10. [17] . Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  11. [18] . Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  12. [19] . Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  13. [6] . wikidata.org.
  14. [7] . wikidata.org.
  15. [8] . wikidata.org.
  16. [9] . Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  17. [10] . Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  18. [12] . wikidata.org.
  19. [26] . wikidata.org.
  20. [27] . wikidata.org.
  21. [3] . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  22. [5] . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  23. [21] . wikidata.org.
  24. [22] . wikidata.org.
  25. [23] . wikidata.org.

Product details (FDA / USDA / NHTSA public-domain catalog data)

  1. [28] . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.
  2. [29] . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.
  3. [30] . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.
  4. [31] . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.
  5. [32] . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.

Inverse relationships (entities pointing at this one)

  1. [41] . wikidata.org. → on this site

Inline context (facts about related entities)

  1. [33] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [34] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  3. [35] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  4. [36] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  5. [37] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  6. [38] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  7. [42] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  8. [43] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  9. [44] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  10. [45] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

Class ancestry

  1. [1] . Wikidata. wikidata.org.

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [11] . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [39] . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [40] . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

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APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). Brendan Behan. Retrieved April 19, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/brendan-behan
MLA “Brendan Behan.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 19 Apr. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/brendan-behan.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_brendan-behan_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{Brendan Behan}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/brendan-behan}, note = {Accessed: 2026-04-19}}
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Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 9d ago · Epìdosis · 2026-05-20 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Educated at Dublin Institute of Technology
    Convicted of attempted murder
    Languages spoken, written or signed English, Irish
    Educated at
    + 28 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/32084|batch #32084]]: import P21 and P106 from GND (26)"
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