The Irish Writers' Quotation Book

THE IRISH WRITERS' QUOTATIONS BOOK
compiled by Andrew Russell

We think we’re living in the present, but we’re really living in the past. JOHN BANVILLE

Words are all we have.  SAMUEL BECKETT

Samuel Beckett is a good friend of mine. I don’t know what his plays are about, but I enjoy them.   BRENDAN BEHAN

If you look at life one way, there’s always call for alarm.  ELIZABETH BOWEN

Sometimes being Irish feels like a job you never applied for.  ANNE ENRIGHT

A person from Northern Ireland is naturally cautious.  SEAMUS HEANEY

Mistakes are the portals of discovery.  JAMES JOYCE

The trouble with Ireland is that it’s a country full of genius, but absolutely no talent.   HUGH LEONARD

One doesn’t have to get anywhere in a marriage. It’s not a public conveyance.  IRIS MURDOCH

Money does not make you happy, but it quiets the nerves.   SEAN O'CASEY

I learned long ago never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it.   GEORGE BERNARD SHAW

If you are not too long, I will wait here for you all my life.   OSCAR WILDE

The innocent and the beautiful have no enemy but time.   WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS