J. P. Donleavy

“That's the Irish People all over - they treat a serious thing as a joke and a joke as a serious thing.”

“God's mercy on the wild Ginger Man.”

“There's one thing I can't stand and that's a solicitor who's a crook. A crook is a crook.”

“I write to get revenge on my parents. Everything I write is a revenge on something.”

“Distance is a great promoter of admiration.”

“I am an aristocrat. I love liberty; I hate equality.”

“A terrible beauty is born.”

“When I die I want to decompose in a barrel of porter and have it served in all the pubs in Dublin.”

“To be lonely is a state of mind, but to be alone is a condition.”

“If you're going to have a sin, make sure it's a good one.”

“Writing is turning one's worst moments into money.”

“Forgive your enemies but never forget their names.”

“A man with a good wife is the luckiest of men.”

“A man who is not a gentleman is a wolf.”

“Live now, pay later.”