Pressure grew today for Brendan Behan's Dublin home to be taken off the market and turned into a national monument.

The iconic address of one of Dublin's greatest ever playwrights and authors, 70 Kildare Road, is up for sale.

The great Dublin writer and poet Ulick O'Connor, who wrote the only true biography on Behan, told the Herald that the Crumlin house where Behan grew up and spent some of his last days should be a "national monument".

O'Connor, who wrote Behan's acclaimed biography, Brendan Behan, said that interest in Behan was getting greater all the time and that the house would become a staple on every Dublin writer's tour if it were open to the public.

"Behan is getting bigger and bigger every day. He is still an icon and a legend," explained O'Connor, who is also a Herald writer.

Estate Agents Murphy Mullan, in Kimmage, who are selling the property, say that a number of first-time buyers are interested in the property.

Estate agent Johnny Mullan said: "A number of bids have been lodged for the house, but the guide price has not yet been reached. It potentially may go up."

The two-bedroom house in Crumlin, known as the 'Crumlin Kremlin', was home to Behan and his family from the 1930s onwards.

Behan did not spend long in the house, moving to Liverpool in 1939, where he was arrested on an IRA bombing mission, but he returned to the house many times up until his death in 1964.

According to O'Connor, the house and the area is of great importance in literary and historical circles.

"Adjacent to the property, was the house of Shane Geraghty, the traditional Irish musician, where Behan would also spend a lot of time. Christy Brown's house was only a few hundred yards away," he explained.

"The house was well built, and was very cheap when the Behan's began living there. It was a way for the corporation to get people out of the city," said O'Connor.

After Behan's death, O'Connor would visit very often in the 1960s, where Behan's mother Kathleen lived until she broke her leg and had to stay in a nursing home.

"She would have stayed on in the house, if she could," said O'Connor.

Plaque

A plaque was erected over the front door of the Kildare Road house in 1977.

As the property once belonged to such a famous icon, questions have arisen over whether the property will be preserved and kept in its original condition.

Estate agent Mr Mullan says that is completely up to the buyer.

The semi-detached house is 720 square feet, with original maple floorboards and cast-iron fire places throughout. The property has retained most of its original features from the time that Behan and his family lived there. The house is for sale by private treaty.

hnews@herald.ie

- Lloyd Murphy