Tom Moore by Thomas Fitzpatrick [?]. Stone. Belfast Place, Belfast.
Of the figures depicted on the stone building on Linen Hall and Donegall Square North, only Thomas Moore (1779-1852) is actually Irish, although he was a native of Dublin rather than Belfast. Although he was a published poet, it is for his music that he is remembered, chiefly Irish Melodies (1807-34), The Two-Penny Post-bag (1812), and the famous and popular Lalla Rookh (1817), for which Longmans paid him 3000 guineas. He is said to have had a generous contempt for money and paid insufficient attention to his financial dealings, which permitted his Bermuda deputy to embezzle £6000, sending him into exile. Returning in 1819, he spent the last thirty years of his life in Wiltshire, during which period he wrote biographies of Sheridan and” byron, a novel, The Epicurean (1823), and numerous other works, as well as musical pieces.
Related Material
- Thomas Moore section in the Victorian Web
- Stevenson (another lunette)
- Watt (another lunette)
- Entire building
Text and Photograph by Philip V. Allingham 2006. [You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL.]
Last modified 12 September 2006