Frank McCourt Quotes (78 Quotes)

Samuel Beckett was saying, in a new biography, that he could remember being in the womb, which, of course, is a bit farfetched. But he's an Irishman, so nothing's too farfetched.

He loves and respects the game, he honestly respects people. These values, these character attributes really, really jumped off the page for me. The talent, the experience is clearly there, but I also wanted to emphasize the chemistry, the character, the values.

You don't see the streets crawling with priests and nuns the way you used to. A lot of the priests go around now in ordinary civilian clothes. And it's hard to distinguish a nun from a housewife anymore except they have a special kind of haircut.

I had no accomplishments except surviving. But that isn't enough in the community where I came from, because everybody was doing it. So I wasn't prepared for America, where everybody is glowing with good teeth and good clothes and food.

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.

To do my job and do it well, I need to tune out criticism, ... I can't be persuaded by being pulled and tugged in different directions.

I'm not one of those James Joyce intellectuals who can stand back and look at the whole edifice... It was a slow process for me to just crawl out of it, like a snake leaving his skin behind.

This is an iconic team in Dodger history. It's not just any other team.

I was beginning to think that you could somehow miraculously dig down into your memory and bring back stuff that is stored there.

The poverty and the influence of the church were very damaging. It damaged all of us emotionally. To be poor deprives you of self-esteem.

This guy's been affiliated with winners all his life, and consistent winners, ... The record, I think, speaks for itself.

He has a high level of integrity, he's honest, hard-working, energetic, trustworthy, loyal, takes responsibility, accountable, loves and respects the game, loves and respects people.

I'm more inclined to go back now because Limerick has changed so much. One of the reasons it was such a grim... or the grimmest of all towns, was that it was the only large city or town in Ireland that didn't have a university. So they put in a university about 20 years ago, and it has changed the whole atmosphere of the place.

I admire certain priests and nuns who go off on their own and do God's work on their own, who help in the ghettos, but as far as the institution of the church is concerned, I think it is despicable.

The Dodgers are at a crossroads here. I'm very mindful of this historic franchise's tradition of greatness.

The Dodgers are a club steeped with a rich history, ... The 1955 team had a brilliant season and began the Dodgers' incredible world championship legacy. We are honored to commemorate the 50th anniversary of this great team's achievement, as these players left an indelible mark on our history.

That in turn gave us additional leg room, and we used that leg room to install an old-fashioned field-box amenity, a baseball box for four or eight seats, where you have your own piece of Dodger Stadium. Because we have the extra leg room, as a result from removing the rows, we were able to put in a table amenity and some storage area.

Only about 15 years ago, there was an item in my hometown paper... about a young couple arrested on the main street in Limerick for kissing, and fined for public displays of something or other... you're not supposed to do that. That's all changing now.

I've stated before that my number one priority as the steward of the Dodgers is winning, and I believe that hiring Ned is a step in that direction, ... With his genuine passion for baseball, his intimate knowledge of all aspects of the game, and solid leadership skills, I am confident that Ned's experience will help the Dodgers put a winning team on the field, year-in and year-out.

What we're trying to do with this restoration is to really balance the history and tradition and the greatness of this wonderful facility with improvements that we make, that give our fans the amenities that they would have in any other new ballpark in America. So that's what we are trying to do, to look forward but respect the past, and to continue to move this franchise and this great venue, Dodger Stadium, into the future.

I just have to proceed as usual. No matter what happens, nothing helps with the writing of the next book.

I had no expectations. As I said to my wife, recently, I might be reviewed in the New York Times Book Review... And then I'd get my Library of Congress catalog number. And then I'd recede into obscurity and I'd get a job like everybody else.

I'd just go into a room in my memory and just look around and start seeing things that I'd forgotten, like the alphabet on the blackboard in Irish, which we had to chant every day for months and months and months. I remember the Gaelic script and things like that. And this awful, putrid lavatory that we used outside.

I would just circle around certain incidents, like a vulture with carrion, until it yielded up some incident in my childhood, especially the religious stuff the sacraments, the First Communion, and Confession, and Confirmation, and all of those turning points in the life of a little Irish Catholic boy.

I think that the Army, being drafted, was my escape route. I was in the Army for two years, and then I got the G. I. Bill, which enabled me to go to NYU and which enabled me to become a teacher. I don't know what would have happened if I hadn't had the G. I. Bill.

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

The sky is the limit. You never have the same experience twice.

I can't go too much into my domestic life because there are ex-wives ready to do me in.