The immigration man read my deportation order, looked at it & handed it back to me. ' Are you Irish?' he asked me.
' No' I said 'as a matter of fact, I'm Yemenite Arab.'
Two detectives came forward who were evidently there to meet me. ' Apparently he is Brendan Behan, ' they said.
The immigration officer shook my hand & his hard face softened. ' Cead mile failte romhat abhaile.' (A hundred thousand welcomes home to you.) I could not answer. There are no words & it would be impertinence to try. I walked down the gangway. I was free.
First published after Brendan Behan's tragic death, Confessions of an Irish Rebel picks up where Borstal Boy left off. Not only is it the last instalment of a unique & unorthodox autobiography, but of a unique & unorthodox life that was as touched with genius as it was with doom.