20 Facts About Dominic Behan

Dominic Behan was an Irish writer, songwriter and singer from Dublin who wrote in Irish and English.

Dominic Behan was born in inner-city Dublin into an educated working-class family.

At the age of thirteen, Dominic Behan 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.

Dominic Behan's 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 British intelligence officers during the Irish War of Independence.

In 1952, Dominic 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.

Dominic Behan was jailed for his part in other campaigns protesting the government's treatment of the working class in Ireland.

Whilst living with MacDiarmid, Dominic Behan became involved in what is known as the "Scottish Republican Army", channelling arms from the IRA with whom he had historical links, to the SRA.

Dominic Behan migrated to London, where he found work with the BBC, writing radio scripts, mainly for the Third Programme.

Dominic Behan's autobiography, Tell Dublin I Miss Her, was published in 1961 and sold well in the USA.

Also during the late sixties and into the early 1970s, along with writing many TV plays, poems and songs, Dominic Behan worked with the leadership of the Official IRA to raise funds to establish a permanent summer school in Mornington 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.

Dominic Behan 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.

Dominic Behan enjoyed this role for more than five years, Dominic 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.

Dominic Behan was a prolific composer and had more than 450 songs published during his lifetime.

Dominic Behan, who was unequivocal in the defence of his copyright, publicly accused Bob Dylan of plagiarising "The Patriot Game" in writing his own "With God on Our Side".

Dominic Behan is discussed briefly in Bob Dylan's documentary film Dont Look Back but it is clear that the enmity between them was palpable.

Dominic 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.

Dominic Behan died at home in Glasgow, aged 60, on 3 August 1989 of complications arising from pancreatic cancer, shortly after the publication of his critically acclaimed novel The Public World of Parable Jones.

Dominic Behan was survived by his widow Josephine and two sons, Fintan and Stephen.

Dominic Behan's oration was given by his lifelong friend Sean Garland, general secretary of the Workers' Party of which Behan had been a staunch supporter for many years.