Sometimes silence resolves a conversation confused by Mad Misconstruction.

My life is every moment of my life. It is not a culmination of the past.

A thing well done is worth doing.

There is only one immutable law in life - in a gentleman's toilet, incoming traffic has the right of way.

Gossip is more popular than literature.

The problem with Ireland is that it's a country full of genius, but with absolutely no talent.

I feel like the writer observing the grief, but it is difficult to be detached from it.

Arnold Bennett was a writer I admired. He was actually taking notes at his father's deathbed.

An Irishman will always soften bad news, so that a major coronary is no more than 'a bad turn' and a near hurricane that leaves thousands homeless is 'good drying weather'.

In life there exist two classes: first class and no class.

My father I liked, but it was only after his death that I got to know him by writing the play.

I do not love men: I love what devours them.

When you truly love someone, you don't want anything except giving everything you have.

If you continue to hit your head against the wall, don’t be surprised if your head hurts.

My idea of "goodness" had to do with belonging in a small yet reciprocal way to something huge and beautiful beyond my understanding.

The word of God is a fountain of life.

If you are committed to your highest potential, existence will support you with new energies.

Northern Uganda presents a situation of extraordinary violation of the rights of children.

If you must make a mistake, make a new one each time.

I don't have children, but I imagine if parents are really pushed on the subject, they probably have favorite children.

I don't believe in God for the same reason that most people don't believe in Apollo or Zeus. ... God is just human beings' way of personifying an otherwise completely natural universe.