Thomas Moore

Thomas Moore (1779–1852) was an Irish poet, singer and songwriter, the son of a Dublin grocer. After studying at Trinity College, Dublin, he went to London, where his translation of the Odes of Anacreon (1800) made his name. His Irish Melodies, lyrics written to traditional airs and published from 1808 to 1834, including The Minstrel Boy and The Last Rose of Summer, made him the national bard of Ireland in the eyes of his contemporaries. His oriental romance Lalla Rookh (1817) was a bestseller across Europe. A close friend of Byron, he wrote his biography and, notoriously, agreed to burn the manuscript of Byron's memoirs.