Irish Quotes

An orator is the worse person to tell a plain fact.

Surely it is much more generous to forgive and remember, than to forgive and forget.

It wasn't long before people discovered the final horrors of letting an urchin into Parliament.

Basically, I have no place in organized politics. By coming to the British Parliament, I've allowed the people to sacrifice me at the top and let go the more effective job I should be doing at the bottom.

Yesterday I dared to struggle. Today I dare to win.

My function in life is not to be a politician in Parliament: it is to get something done.

I got quite bored, serving in the bar. Since I was there, the customers wouldn't talk about women, and with half their subject matter denied them, it was: horses, silence; horses, silence.

One American said that the most interesting thing about Holy Ireland was that its people hate each other in the name of Jesus Christ. And they do!

Among the best traitors Ireland has ever had, Mother Church ranks at the very top, a massive obstacle in the path to equality and freedom. She has been a force for conservatism... to ward off threats to her own security and influence.

To gain what is worth having, it may be necessary to lose everything else.

The will is never free - it is always attached to an object, a purpose. It is simply the engine in the car - it can't steer.

Remember I'm an artist. And you know what that means in a court of law. Next worst to an actress.

Religion is organized to satisfy and guide the soul - politics does the same thing for the body.

Love doesn't grow on trees like apples in Eden - it's something you have to make. And you must use your imagination too.

It is a tragedy of the world that no one knows what he doesn't know - the less a man knows, the more sure it is that he knows everything.

God is a character, a real and consistent being, or He is nothing. If God did a miracle He would deny His own nature and the universe would simply blow up, vanish, become nothing.

A novel should be an experience and convey an emotional truth rather than arguments.

For good and evil, man is a free creative spirit. This produces the very queer world we live in, a world in continuous creation and therefore continuous change and insecurity.

I look upon life as a gift from God. I did nothing to earn it. Now that the time is coming to give it back, I have no right to complain.

What's the difference between my wife and a terrorist? You can negotiate with a terrorist.

It's never occurred to me to worry about my health, or that I'll get old, or that people will stop laughing at me.

Have you heard about the Irishman who reversed into a car boot sale and sold the engine?

So I rang up British Telecom, I said 'I want to report a nuisance caller', he said 'Not you again'.

I am accusing him of stealing my best material, he was a very funny man.

I don't think my wife likes me very much, when I had a heart attack she wrote for an ambulance.

These are very difficult times for new artists. Back in the day, a hit song could really seep into a person's DNA with radio and MTV. A hit today is not the same as a hit twenty years ago. Now there is so much competition, it is very hard to reach the people. The music scene is so overly saturated.

The nature of touring is packaging acts together that have strong catalogues of music. It's about making sure that it's a winning combination. It's really about giving people value for their money.

The Internet has definitely opened doors and leveled the playing field for musicians.

Technology has made it much easier to make and manipulate music. Studio-driven, machine-driven music does not always transcend into being a good live act. Many current acts are great live, but many cannot cut it live. The music is not organic.

It's a lot more comfortable, I must say. Ummm, I didn't think I'd be playing with another band, I kinda thought I was through with that, but I make an exception because they're nice people.