272 Quotes by Frank McCourt

He came to the States in 1963, I think with a view to making up with my mother, but that didn't work. He came for three weeks, and drank his way all over Brooklyn. And went back... I went to his funeral in Belfast.

I had to get rid of any idea of hell or any idea of the afterlife. That's what held me, kept me down. So now I just have nothing but contempt for the institution of the church.

I think I settled on the title before I ever wrote the book.

I'm more interested in writing than in performing.

My childhood here... was very limited. So it was a long, long time before I actually went out to Brooklyn.

You feel a sense of urgency, especially at my advanced age, when you're staring into the grave.

And, of course, they've always condemned dancing. You know, you might touch a member of the opposite sex. And you might get excited and you might do something natural.

They all went into the bar business. Which was a mistake, because they began to sip at the merchandise and it set them back, set us all back. Well, them more than I.

I've been writing in notebooks for 40 years or so.