Borstal Boy

Brendan Behan, 1958
Arrow Books, Penguin - Random House, 1990

Reminds of Tuntematon Sotilas, for the expression of different dialects of a linguistic community. And of course a powerful testimony of the Irish identity.

Vocabulary:

Characters

Part I

p 104

'Get stuffed you bloody puff.'
Compliments pass when the quality meet.
p 124
My lord and gentlemen, it is my privilege and honour today, to stand, as so many of my countrymen have done, in an English court, to testify to the unyielding determination of the Irish people to regain every inch of our national territory and give expression to the noble aspirations for which so much Irish blood has been shed, so many brave and manly of my comrades are now lying in your nails.

Part Three

p 371
‘Passport, travel permit or identity document, please,’ said the immigration man beside me.
I handed him the expulsion order.
He read it, looked at it and handed it back to me. He had a long educated countryman's sad face, like a teacher, and took my hand.
‘Céad míle fáilte sa bhaile romhat.’
A hundred thousands welcomes home to you.

Autobiography
Marc Girod
Sun Sep 19 16:46:20 2021