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(!779-1852)
Thomas Moore was born in Dublin in 1779,
his early talent was nurtured by his mother, and soon grew to be
a widely recognized figure in Dublin society. As a friend, of Robert
Emmett and Lord Edward Fitzgerald, both leaders of the United Irish
Men,
Lord Edward, although a son of the Duke of
Leinster, (largest landowner in Ireland at the time), died of his
wounds, before he was brought to trial, for insurrection, after
the failed rebellion of 1798. Robert Emmett was not so fortunate
and was publicly executed as a traitor, which great affected Thomas
Moore, who wrote many songs to his dead friend over his lifetime
including Oft in the
Stilly Night. Thomas Moore was fortunate that no breath of suspicion
was attached to him, in the aftermath of this Irish disaster
He left for London shortly after these sad
events, where, his good looks, charm and talent, soon, brought him
fame in society.
In London, using his talent as a musician,
he was able to take existing Irish music, unscrupulously adapting
it to fit his poetry. The romantic sad songs, of a lost glorious
past, of the Minstrel boy going to war with his wild harp slung
behind him. |
