born May 28, 1779, Dublin, Ire.
died Feb. 25, 1852, Wiltshire, Eng.
Irish poet, satirist, composer, and singer.
Moore graduated from Trinity College and studied law in London, where he became a close friend of Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley . His collections Irish Melodies and National Airs (1807–34) consist of 130 original poems set to folk melodies, including "The Minstrel Boy," "Believe Me, if All Those Endearing Young Charms," and "The Last Rose of Summer." Performed by Moore for London's aristocracy, they aroused sympathy and support for Irish nationalists. His reputation among his contemporaries rivaled that of Byron and Walter Scott . His poem Lalla Rookh (1817), a romantic Oriental fantasy, became the most translated poem of its time. In 1824 he was entrusted with Byron's memoirs; he burned them, presumably to protect Byron. He later published biographies of Byron and others, as well as a History of Ireland (1827).