"It's not that the Irish are cynical. It's rather that they have a wonderful lack of respect for everything and everybody."

“I only drink on two occasions — When I am thirsty and when I'm not.”

“When I came back to Dublin, I was courtmartialled in my absence and sentenced to death in my absence, so I said they could shoot me in my absence.”

“I respect kindness in human beings first of all, and kindness to animals. I don't respect the law; I have a total irreverence for anything connected with society except that which makes the roads safer, the beer stronger, the food cheaper and the old men and old women warmer in the winter and happier in the summer.”

“An author's first duty is to let down his country.”

“As regards drink, I can only say that in Dublin during the Depression when I was growing up, drunkenness was not regarded as a social disgrace. To get enough to eat was regarded as an achievement. To get drunk was a victory.”

“The sun was in mind to come out but having a look at the weather it was in lost heart and went back again.”