--- title: "1 Like Irish Quotes By Colm Toibin" description: "1 Like Irish quotes by Colm Toibin. Plus more from Colm Toibin and more Like Irish sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3eb/colm-toibin-3377_america_i-said-that-when-i-looked-at-photographs_868310.png" --- > [I said that when I looked at photographs of the firefighters who went into the Twin Towers, their faces looked to me like Irish faces. I hadn't yet learnt how careful outsiders have to be when talking about race in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/i-said-that-when-i-looked-at-photographs-of-the-firefighters-who-went/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3eb/colm-toibin-3377_america_i-said-that-when-i-looked-at-photographs_868310.png) ## More by Colm Toibin > [I first went to Barcelona in 1975 after university, and I stayed for three years. I learnt Catalan because that's what everyone speaks in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/i-first-went-to-barcelona-in-1975-after-university-and-i-stayed-for/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [“What is hard to understand is that our dreams matter”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/what-is-hard-to-understand-is-that-our-dreams-matter/) [Colm Tóibín](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [Suffering is too strong a word, but writing is serious work. I pull the stuff up from me - it's not as if it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/suffering-is-too-strong-a-word-but-writing-is-serious-work-i-pull-the/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [Three of my novels and a good number of my short stories are told from the point of view of men. I was brought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/three-of-my-novels-and-a-good-number-of-my-short-stories-are-told/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [It may be enough to study history in all its nuance and ambiguity for its own sake. But there is no country free of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/it-may-be-enough-to-study-history-in-all-its-nuance-and-ambiguity-for/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [The only routine I have is that I finish everything I start. I wake up early every day - about 6.30 A.M. - but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/the-only-routine-i-have-is-that-i-finish-everything-i-start-i-wake-up/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [While historians may go on attempting grand, sweeping and defining narratives, they work in a time when readers know that another narrative always lies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/while-historians-may-go-on-attempting-grand-sweeping-and-defining/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [John McGovern taught me that it's OK to write repeatedly about the same things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/john-mcgovern-taught-me-that-it-s-ok-to-write-repeatedly-about-the/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [Some of our loves and attachments are elemental and beyond our choosing, and for that very reason they come spiced with pain and regret…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/some-of-our-loves-and-attachments-are-elemental-and-beyond-our/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [Solitude is good in the evening. Dublin is a quiet city when you get to a certain age, when your friends settle down and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/solitude-is-good-in-the-evening-dublin-is-a-quiet-city-when-you-get/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [“The details of what I told him were with me all the years in the same way as my hands or my arms were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/the-details-of-what-i-told-him-were-with-me-all-the-years-in-the-same/) [Colm Tóibín](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [I did think of becoming a priest quite late on, when other boys were thinking of knocking over fences and going out with girls.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/i-did-think-of-becoming-a-priest-quite-late-on-when-other-boys-were/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [“Here in this cemetery, which they began to stroll around once more, the state of not-knowing and not-feeling which belonged to the dead seemed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/here-in-this-cemetery-which-they-began-to-stroll-around-once-more-the/) [Colm Tóibín](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [“I don’t go in for change. It is not one of my subjects. I have always taken the view that noticing change is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/i-don-t-go-in-for-change-it-is-not-one-of-my-subjects-i-have-always/) [Colm Tóibín](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [“There will always be reservations, things one must leave out, events one can’t explain without handing over a full map of one’s life, unfolding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/there-will-always-be-reservations-things-one-must-leave-out-events/) [Colm Tóibín](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-irish/colm-toibin/#itemlist", "name": "1 Like Irish Quotes By Colm Toibin", "numberOfItems": 1, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I said that when I looked at photographs of the firefighters who went into the Twin Towers, their faces looked to me like Irish faces. 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