ANG-218 Irish Literature 2015, Remport
Thomas Moore (1779-1852)
Irish Melodies
Main themes:
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birth place and religion: Dublin, Roman Catholic
parents: John Moore (a well-to-do merchant), Anastasia Codd (later
Moore)
interests: literature, music and the performing arts
education: English Grammar School - standing out for his knowledge of
Irish history
 becomes a distinguished Classicist (interests: poetry, music,
rhetoric
university education: Trinity College Dublin (as a Catholic in a
Protestant institution)
 1795-1799 degree in law (hope for a legal career in London)
at Trinity College (around the United Irishmen rebellion): Moore gets
involved in radical politics (Robert Emmett, Edward Hudson)
after United Irishmen rebellion of 1798: Trinity inspections against
Moore because of his involvement in radical politics and his friendship
with some United Irishmen leaders
after inspection: charges dropped and Moore allowed to graduate in 1799
early 1800s finds him in Bermuda, United States and Canada (travels
the world)
Irish Melodies (1808-1834) - collection of folk songs, and folklore
inspired songs
 he often sings the songs himself (interest in music!)
marriage: Elizabeth Dyke (1811)
friendship: Lord Byron (1811); burns Byron’s letters and memoirs after
his friend’s death, on Byron’s demand, but publishes some of Byron’s
material (1830)
health: suffers from mental illness (1840s)
death: 1852
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the religious question in Ireland
the political question in Ireland
Irish folk tradition (revival of the caoine (Irish lament/keening)
Main reasons for collecting the melodies:
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the Anglicisation of the Gaelic tradition
making it acceptable for the ruling / social élite (predominantly British)
polishing the style of the old folklore material
 he is referred to as “the Irish bard”
Questions regarding the selected poems from Moore’s Irish Melodies
(“The Harp that Once Through Tara Halls,” “Erin, Oh Erin” and
“Sublime was the warning”)
Choose one poem and answer the questions below
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What is the main sentiment of the poem?
What is its central motif?
What is the poem’s prognosis about the future of Ireland?
(consider the poem’s central imagery)
Finally, what is the final note of the poem?
Hope or despair?
HELP: The harp and the name “Erin” refer to Ireland; the “Olive of
Spain” was used to recall the attempt of the Spanish King, Philip II
and his Spanish Armada to defeat the Tudor Elizabeth I.