What is a navy? (Rio Rita's description)
Is the any specific significance to Belfast Jail? (130)
Anything else I should know about Stout besides it being alcohol? (102)
What's a scow? ( 130)
Who is Shan Van Vocht?
What did Baden Powel look like?
Anything special about Armagh?
Who is R Goine Vasal? (141)
Who is Brian Boru?
What is meant by Leadbetter?
What's St. Vincent de Paul?
What are the Inniskillings? (201)
Brendan Behan authored what? (204)
What does "You'll have that Holy Joe down on us" mean? (207)
What should I know about the battle at Mullingar? (209)
What is he referring to with "Mat begat Pat" and "This one lay with
that one" (214)
Who is General Franco? (214)
Is Pat story about support during the famine true or exaggeration?
(215)
What's the NAAFI? (218)
Who is McCaffery mentioned in the song? (219)
Who is Kruschev? (222)
What's Whiston Mail? (225)
What does Monswer mean by Mills bombs? (233)
Is there any significance to Aftons (174)
What exactly is a Budgeriguard? (177)
Who was "the boy in Belfast" ? Is this a historical reference?
What is wrong with Pat's leg? (130)
Why does Pat say "Killymanjaro" and why does he give Meg a sophisticated
answer when she asks what it is?
What was Shan Van Vocht and what part did it play in Ireland's fighting?
Is it a person or another Liberty Organisation? (131)
What is a brockel? I thought an English word for whorehouse was brothel.
Is that just Pat's Irish accent coming through?
What does Pat means when he asks Meg if she's losing her union card?
(132)
Who were the Tans? I'll guess the English since they're fighting the
Irish Republican Army.
What does it mean "And the Irish Republican Army / Made shit of the
whole mucking lot." Does this mean they won or lost?
When Pat says the IRA are out of date why do the rest of the cast say
"Shame. No." ?
Why does the Russian sailor say "Niet" when Pat gets to the Red Army?
What were the RAF, the Red Army, the Free State Army, and the Coldstream
Guards?
Who was Baden Powell? (133)
What does "Cen caoi ina bfuil tu" mean?
What does "Iss in yeeg a Kale-ah shah togeock nuh cashlawn" mean? (134)
What is Armagh? A border town, border fort?
What does Pat mean by Shepton Mallet? (135)
What does "Mir y drushva" mean?
Who does Meg mean when she says "Anybody would think you was doing
God a good turn speaking well of him" ? (137)
What does Pat mean about Mulleady's laundry that "It walked back" ?
(138)
Who was Pig-eye? Is this another historical figure? (140)
Is R. Goine Vasal really Irish for mister or is it a joke? (141)
Who was Brian Boru?
What is the joke about all in one bed? Do Protestant bishops have a
bad reputation already? (142)
What was the Rising? (143)
Who were Lloyd George, Birkenhead and Michael Collins?
Why was Michael Collins called the Laughing Boy? (144)
Who were Pearse and Ashe?
What is the GPO? (145)
Why did both Cosgrave and de Valera turn against the IRA?
Who were Cosgrave and de Valera?
What happened at O'Connell Street?
What does Rio Rita means when he says "you want to take a bucket of
water out with you when you go out back" ?
What does Meg mean by "Carry on with the coffin, the corpse'll walk"
? (146)
What is the joke about the one-legged girl?
What does "In nomine" mean? Is it part of the prayer? (148)
What does "dug out of you" mean?
Who were Sodom and Gomorrah? What does this reference mean? (152)
What do the insults "Butterfly" and "painted May-pole" mean? Why are
they insulting?
What is the reference with the name Princess Grace? (153)
What does Pat mean when he says "I was out in 1916"? (160)
What is the issue in County Kerry? Who was Lord Tralee?
What was the social question? (161)
What does Pat mean when he asks "Are you going to Woolsworth to buy
one?" ? (162)
Who was Marie Lloyd? Singer or Actress?(165)
What is up with Rio Rita's name? (167)
What does Leslie mean by a packet that it causes a bit of confusion?
(174)
Why is the volunteer left needing to use the lavatory?
What are budgeriguards? (177)
Who was Jim Larkin?
Why does Pat think the worst thing about jail was the Irish Patriots
with him? (179)
Why is Miss Gilchrist so obsessive about reading the article about
the Queen? (181)
Who was Dermot Morrah?
Who were Sister Rowe, Uffa Fox, Mrs Dale and Mr O'Malley?
How were they related to the Royal Family? (182)
I thought the characters were all Catholic? Why are Mulleady and Gilchrist
singing about how the Bible is nonsense?
What is a Delft? (183)
What happened May 8th 1921? At Arbourhill Barracks?
Who were the Redcaps? (184)
Is it a dig at the duke that he plays tiddlywinks?
Why doesn't Leslie know what happened to Ireland? (185)
Does Leslie's number have any special significance?
What does "Focail, Focaileile uait" mean? (189)
What does Sleachta mean?
Are Rosy Lee and Holy Ghost names of drinks?
What does C of E mean? (190)
Why does Teresa call the procession of the Blessed Virgin a big feast,
but then say they had no food? (196-7)
When the Volunteer stops Meg from entering the room to see Leslie does
he suspect something? He says "He might not have his trousers on." (200)
What does Meg mean when she says she "only wanted to see him in a temporal
way" ? (201)
What happened on the Somme? (202)
What happened Easter week?
Who were the Mausers? The Red Countess?
What was Sinn Fein? Louvain? (203)
What happens on page 204? Why would the author give himself mention
in his play?
Behan breaks the fourth wall when the characters know they're only
characters and Leslie speaks to the audience. Is that his intention, to
break with tradition and create a bit of anarchy on the stage?
Who was Holy Joe? (207)
What does Pat mean when he says they're all generals now "Like their
mothers before them" ? (208)
What happened at Mullingar? Russell Street in Dublin? Cork? (209)
Did both the English and Irish put up Celtic crosses for the County
Surveyor who died? Is that what Meg is trying to say? (210)
Is "the father of lies" a reference to the devil?
Pat still has both of his legs? Has he been limping around the stage
or using a crutch all this time? (211)
What does Meg mean when she calls Pat "a half-red footman - a Sinn
Fein skivvy"? (212)
When Gilchrist says she came to work in a house does she mean cleaning
house and mothering the boys there?
What does Pat mean when he says "the medicals is more for the beer"?
(213)
What does Gilchrist mean when she calls Mulleady a fonctionnaire? (214)
Who was Diana Dors?
Who was the one who cut up his victim and threw the bits out of a plane?
Who was McCaffery?
Why does Pat draw a circle to keep the Hostage in? (217)
What is the NAAFI? (218)
Why would Gilchrist have had her voice trained by an electrocutionist?
Why would this be something for her to brag about? (219)
Who are Mr Kruschev and Macmillan? (222)
Why is Teresa confused about the time? (230)
Is the point of this play to make fun of the new Irish Liberty Movement?
Would reading James Joyce's works make it easier to understand this
style and content?
Why do they sing?
Where does this take place?
When characters speak in Irish, how would the audience understand their
dialogue?
Who is Shan Van Vocht? (131)
What is a Union Card? (132)
Where is Mullingar? (132)
Refernce to "them ould times" and "five glorious years"? (133)
RAF, The Swiss Guards, the Foreign Legion, the Red Army, Horse Guards?
Who is Baden Powell?
Who is Shepton Mallet? (135)
What is "whited sepulcher"? (138)
"Plenty of fodder in?"? (139)
"pig-eye"? (140)
"Haunty Cotture warehouse"? (141)
Who is Brian Boru? (142)
What does "Protestant like Leadbetter" and "Belfast Orangeman."? (143)
Who are Lloyd George and Michael Collins? (144)
What is the difference between regular cigarettes and Irish cigarettes?
(174)
What are budgeriguards? (177)
What does "out in 1916" mean? (179)
What does GPO stand for?
Who is Jim Larkin?
What is Jankers? (182)
What happened on May 8th 1921? (184)
What does Redcaps mean?
What is, and where is the convent at Ballymahon? (186)
King of the May? (197)
Royal Irish Rifles? (201)
What is the St. Vincent de Paul Society? (205)
What is Mountjoy, Curragh Camp? (212)
Who is General Franco? (214)
Who is Diana Dors? Why was she famous? (217)
What does NAAFI stand for? (218)
Who is Lord Chamberland, and what was the trouble with him in (225)
the past?
UP the Arsenal? (235)
"Monsewer" is it supposed to be a slurred version of the French title
"Monsieur" meaning "mister"?
What was the Irish Republic?
What was the I.R.A?
"the war of Independence is as dead as the Charleston" Are we talking
about the dance move??
What happened/was the War of Independence?
Who was Shan Von Vocht?
What was the R.F.A?
Where is Armagh?
"I hope to God he's not going to bring them all here" who is the "them"
portion of this statement??
Shepton Mallet? Is there some significance?
"and a pair of jodhpurs off a colonel's batman for two pints of Bass
and fifty Woodbines."
"every class of gouger and bowsey in the city"?? what is "gouger" and
"bowsey"?
Lord Tralee?
Free State Army?
Is there a difference in between the English and Irish prisons during
the time period of the play? One better off? One worse than the other?
Redcaps?
Reining queen at the time?
G.P.O
Info about Belfast jail?
Story behind Jim Larkin?
Dermot Morrah?
the Inniskillings?
Brendan Behan?
the Movement?
Is there actually a "Special Powers Act" by the Holy Ghost?
Generally, are all the songs in the play written just for the play?
Or are these actual songs sung around this time period and culture of persons?
It's very difficult to absorb some of the meanings in the play such
as old Irish words etc..In the play there are several instances of phrases
no one in the modern day would understand, especially not having any study
of this language.
VOCABULARY:
What is "fodder"?
"moniker"?
"bejasus"?
"brasstitute"?
"novena"?
"quare-looking gilly"?
"simpering little get"?
"Gollywong"?
"Teetotal"?
"Drumcondra"?
"Eustance"?
"Delft"?
"Gorblimey"?
First Page: What are the "Troubles" and "Anti-English
Campaigns"?
What is the I.R.A.? ( 130)
What does Pat mean when he says; "The I.R.A. and the War of ( 131)
Independence are as dead as the Charleston."?
What is the "cause'? It is referred to on numerous occasions ( 131)
throughout the script.
What is the political state of things in context to the play? ( 133)
133: What groups are the R.A.F, The Swiss Guards, Foreign Legion, (p)
the Red Army. What are their purposes?
What does the stage direction "Like Washington on the eve of ( 139)
Waterloo" mean?
What does Meg mean when she says; "Sure, he hasn't had a letter (
140) from England since they naturalized the Suez Canal."?
There are many references to people or figures in the script. ( 142)
For instance, who is Brian Boru. Pat mentions his name.
What is the significance of the lines that are sung? Pat has ( 144)
a section to sing on this page. Most of the time what they are singing
about is hard to understand.
What happened at O'Connell Street? ( 146)
Emotions seem to run high throughout the play. They sort of ( 147)
go up and down through the interactions among characters. What is the reason
for the vulgar language and uneasiness between characters?
What does Miss Gilchrist mean by saying; "Mr. Mulleady, come ( 152)
away. This is Sodom and Gomorrah."?
What does the expression "Saint Vincent de Paul Society" refer (
160) to?
What is the meaning and significance of the lines; ( 166)
"Teresa: There's some very strange people in this house.
Meg: There's some very strange people in the world."?
What does Pat mean when he says; "Sure, they're getting along ( 177)
like a couple of budgeriguards."? What are budgeriguards?
What role does the Queen play in the situation that the characters
( 181) have been placed in?
Is there any significance to Monsewer playing or practicing ( 185)
his pipes?
What is a chancer. Teresa calls the soldier a chancer. ( 186)
It seems that there is not one single person who is in control (
190) of the situation. Who is in control? Pat, the officer, Monsewer…?
Why do the characters trust the soldier so much? Do they sympathize
( 194) with him?
There seems to be some form of importance with religion. What ( 196)
does it offer to the play and how does it effect the characters motivations?
Does music play when the songs are being sung? The stage directions
( 200) do not concern this.
What meaning does Mountjoy and the Curragh Camp Universities ( 212)
have? What kinds of people go there?
Who is Diana Dors? ( 217)
What role does the boy in Belfast prison play? ( 218)
They drink stout a lot which seems to be alcohol. What role ( 220)
does alcohol play?
The stage directions on this page make it hard to see the chaos (
233) that is playing out on stage. What is really happening on stage?
Are the political motives and ambitions of others the key aspect (
237) to this play?
Why does Brendan Behan choose to set the play in such slum naturalism?
Page 131- Pat states the year in which the play is set is 1960. Days
of heroes, according to Pat are "over this forty years past." What does
he mean by this? What happened in 1920?
Page 133- To what degree of power did the Irish Republican Army have
in comparison to Great Britain, the United States, R.A.F.? Why does Pat
seem to think these armies are out of date?
Page 133- What significance does the H bomb place in the time setting
of the play?
Page 134- Was there post-secondary education in Ireland, or were British
Universties (ie Oxford) the sole destination for Irish students?
Page 134- Monsewer appears to be mad throughout the duration of the
play, and yet Pat treats him with the utmost respect due to both their
military history and the house owner's education. In 1958, were the people
of Ireland categorized into class-like divisions because of their role
during the War of Independence and/or their education?
The interaction between Pat and Meg is much like the elluded tension
between that of Benedict and Beatrice (in Much Ado About Nothing) with
the combination of Algernon and Jack (The Importance of Being Earnest).
Did Behan use these plays as inspiration? What other plays did Behan possibly
use?
Is the boy or the prisoner Leslie the same boy that they refer too
as the Belfast boy?(131)
What is the Shan Van Vocht , ? , p131
Who are the Tans?, p133
Who is Baden Powell?,p133
What does ôCien caoi ina bfuil tuö mean? , p134
What is a billet?, p140
What is a monniker?, p141
Who are the G.P.O.?,p145
What kind of place or house is this place, is it a brothel or just
a regular house?
What is a novena? ,p151
Why do they bring this boy (the soldier) to this house?
What does the phrase ôbeing out in 1916" refer too? ,p 179
Who is Sister Rowe and Uffa Fox?,p182
What is a janker?, p182
What is a dirge?, p185
What is Armagh?, p188
What is a pawnbroker?
What is Inniskilling?p, 201
What is a Somme?, p202
On page 204 and 205 there is a brief like song and dance where the
people are dancing and waving banners what is this meant to represent?
are the I.R.A.? ,p160
Whats a skivvy? Intro of characters first page
is the N.A.A.F.I. ? 218
Why does Pat mention Mullingar? (132)
What is the difference between the new I.R.A. and the 'old' soldiers
of Ireland? ( 133)
Who or what is a private Shepton Mallet? (135)
How did Lloyd George and Birkenhead make a fool of Michael Collins?
(144)
Why was the " Laughing Boy" shot down by a Irish Son? (145)
Who or what is Pearse's side? (145)
What is the G.P.O.? (145)
Where is Mountjoy and what is the purpose in mentioning it? (145)
Why does Pat mention Cosgrave and his government? (146)
Why were the Republicans hunted? (146)
Why is O'Connell Street mentioned? (146)
What is a Free-Stater? (183)
Why does Pat mention Arbourhill Barracks? (184)
What is the Geneva Convention and what were the rules they laid down?
(189)
Where is Sinn Fein and why was it important for the enemies of the
Irish to crush it? (201)
What is the importance in mentioning Mullingar? 17. p.209: Pat mentions
the Civil War; what was the reason behind the war? (209)
Why does Meg mention Mountjoy and the Curragh Camp? What is the connection?
(212)
Who is Diana Dors? (217)
In Meg's song why is it important to mention the name McCaffery? (217)
What does the N.A.A.F.I stand for? (218)
Why does Pat mention the Battersea Dog's Home? (215)
Who is the Mr. Kruschev, Miss Gilchrist's cries to in song? (222)
Who is Macmillan in Miss Gilchrist's song? (222)
What is the Wolfenden Report? And, why is it mentioned in relations
to 'whores and queers"? (226)
What is stout? (131)
What does I.R.A stand for? (131)
What was the Charleston? (131)
Who was Shan Van Vocht(131)
What do they mean by "The H Bomb"? (133)
What does Armagh mean? (133)
What is a woodbine? (136)
What is Blackheath? (143)
What is a brassitute? (150)
What is an Irish ceilidh?(159)
What is a Cypriote? (163)
What does G.P.O stand for? (179)
What was the covenant of Ballymahon?(186)
What does begod mean?(211)
"The I.R.A and the War of Independence are as dead as the Charleston."
(page 131) What is the War of Independence?
What is the effect of the actors saying their lines to the audience?
"Hurrah for Library, says the Shan Van Vocht." (page 131) What's the
Shan Van Vocht?
" So you're nothing but a ponce" (page 132)- What's a ponce?
"…and so is the R.A.F, the Swiss guards, the Foreign Legion, the Red
Army." (page 133). What is the R.A.F and the Red Army?
" Niet." (page 133). What does Niet mean?
" Sure, he hasn't had a letter from England since they naturalized
the Suez Canal." (page 140). What is the Suez Canal?
When this play was preformed would the typical person in the audience
understand the Gaelic?
" Cen Caoi Ina Bfuil Tu." (page 134). What is the translation?
What was taking place during this time period in Ireland?
" I'll give her the first bloody novena." (page 151) What does Novena
mean?
" it's in triplicate one for you, one for me and one for HQ…" What
does HQ refer to?
If Pat is Irish why does he not know how to speak Gaelic? (" Officer:….
Do you have the Gaelic." Pat: "No, I'm afraid not." –page 158)
" Till the H-Bomb will bring them together." (page 170) What does the
H-bomb refer to?
Why is the solider referred to as a prisoner?
What is the reference to the boy in the Belfast Jail?
I am unclear if the goy in the Belfast jail was he from Ireland or
England?
What was the Belfast boy charged with?
The word guv is used at the end of the sentence, what does that mean?
( page 189)
"Mine was in the Inniskillings."(page 201). What does Inniskillings
mean
Was the protestant or Catholic dominate in Dublin during this play?
" Ah, there's many a good heart beats under a Khakitunic." (page 201)
what does Khakitunic mean?
"Brendan Bechan, he's too anti-British." (page 204). Who is Brendan
Bechan?
"I intend to. I was at Mullingar, at the time of the troubles, that
I lost my leg.."(page 209). Where is Mullingar?
Why is the Russian officer in Ireland?
Was pat part of the capturing and holding of the Soilder?
Background history?
Troubles & anit-English campaigns?
What are these WARS that they speak of?
IRA?
They make fun of the Russian for being a communist - why is this bad?
What is the year of this play?
What is 'the cause'?
Treaty of London?
The play is called Hostage, is it because the residents are being held
hostage within the brothel until the pay rent?
What is going on between Pat and the inspector? Is the inspector really
an inspector?
Is sarcasm a characteristic of this Irish genre?
Who is Mr. de Valera? for some reason I believe I heard someone reference
him as the devil once.
What were the Troubles? (129)
What exactly did the boy in the Belfast jail do? (130)
What is a navvy? (130)
What is the Shan Van Vocht? (131)
How does the "New IRA" differ from the old? (131)
Who were the Tams and what were their Crossley tenders? (133)
Who is Baden Powell? (133)
What is the meaning of the Irish expressions Cen caoi ina bfuil tu,
and Issa in yeeg a Kale'ah shah toegock nuh cashlawn? (134)
What is a Shepton Mallet? (135)
What significant event(s) took place in 1916? (135)
What are jodhpurs, what are Woodbines? (136)
What is the translation of the Russian phrase Mir y drushva? (137)
What is meant by the phrase He's not as green as he's cabbage looking?
(141)
Who is R. Goine Vasal? (141)
Why does Ropeen say Leadbetter? (143)
What exactly was the Rising? (143)
What is the translation of Go raibh mile maith Agath? (145)
What is a gilly? (151)
What is meant by quare-looking? (151)
Why does Meg refer to Mulleady as an eye-box? (153)
What is an aspidistra? (154)
Who are the Kerry men? (161)
Who was Jim Larkin? (179)
In Mulleady's song, who is Murphy, and what is a Delft? (183)
Who are the Redcaps? (184)
Why does Monsewer say to Princess Grace, "Colonials, eh?" (187)
What does Focail, Focailiele uait translate to? (189)
What does Sleachta-sleachta mean? (190)
What is the C of E? (190)
Who were the Royal Irish Rifles and the Inniskillings? (201)
Who is the Red Countess? (203)
Why does the Officer refer to Brendan Behan as being anti-Irish? (204)
Why does Pat say that the IRA Officer is not fit to be a batman? (208)
Who is General Franco? (214)
Who is McCaffery? (217)
What is the N.A.A.F.I.? (218)
What does Miss Gilchrist mean when she says her voice was trained by
an electrocutionist? (219)
What is square bashing? (221)
Who are Kruschev and Macmillan, mentioned in the song? (222)
What is a whist drive? (224)
Who is Lord Chamberlain? (225)
What is meant by male, female, or Whiston Mail. (225)
What is the meaning of the word astore? (230)
Where is the Pru? (236)