The Museum of Literature Ireland has announced a new exhibition to remember acclaimed Irish writer Brendan Behan.

The Holy Hour: A Requiem for Brendan Behan will open on Friday 10 March. The exhibition was created by author Patrick McCabe and it coincides with the centenary of Behan’s birth.

The life and works of Behan will be presented through an audio-visual installation, including archive footage and Behan’s own words. The exhibition will run until October this year.

Born on 9 February 1923 in Dublin, Brendan Behan was a poet, short story writer, novelist and playwright. He is best known for his plays The Quare Fellow and An Giall/The Hostage. He died, aged 41, on 20 March 1964, and is buried in Glasnevin Cemetery.

Speaking at the launch, director of the Museum of Literature Ireland, Simon O’Connor said, “We have long wanted to celebrate the writer Brendan Behan, and to explore his life as an artist and a sensitive thinker, beyond the media depictions and showmanship of his success.

“To work with Patrick McCabe on this project was to get a privileged glimpse into a similar kind of virtuosity, humour, and sensibility.”

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