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Page 24 Echo Lifestyle Ireland’s Minstrel Boy gets his encore

By Michael P. Quinlin [email protected] William Blake. Phase one of the Moore project is slat- BOSTON — Ireland’s first mega star ed to go live this November, when the wrote poetry, history tomes and political Hypermedia Archive will be launched polemics that made him the talk of the at a conference in Galway, according to town in his native Dublin as well as in Ryder. London, Boston and New York. “By next year, we should have all the We’re not talking about Bono here, ‘Irish Melodies’ available online as texts, but rather Thomas Moore, whose patri- manuscript facsimiles and musical files, otic-imbued writings earned him the with commentary,” he said. The interest in Moore is enhanced by www.irishecho.com / Irish Echo May 21-27, 2008 titles Bard of Erin and Ireland’s National Poet. two new biographies, including one It was Moore’s lyrics to ancient Irish published last month by Ronan Kelly airs that brought him fame and notoriety entitled, “The Bard of Erin: the Life of during his lifetime and beyond. His Thomas Moore,” which Ryder says is famous collection, “Moore’s Melodies,” superb. was admired by the likes of Beethoven Like Ryder, Professor Flannery in and Lord Byron, and translated into six Atlanta never lost faith in Moore’s languages. importance in Irish history as a song- “Moore’s Melodies” was a ten-vol- writer, a literary influence and a nation- ume set of 124 songs published between alist figure. 1808 and 1834 by Power Publishing in Flannery, who also heads up the W. London. The airs were taken largely B. Yeats Foundation, asserts that Moore from Edward Bunting’s famous tune helped to shape modern Ireland through book, “Ancient Irish Music,” which was his songwriting, and influenced many published in 1796, and is still a source noted Irish writers, such as William But- book for traditional musicians. ler Yeats. While Moore wrote exquisite lyrics to Flannery has written extensively on the Bunting airs, his collaborator, John Moore and recorded many of his songs. Stevenson, arranged the music, some- “Dear Harp of My Country: the Irish times distorting the true melody-line to Melodies of Thomas Moore” was pub- fit the words. The songs expressed the lished in 1997, to great acclaim. The Irish desire for freedom, but because the double CD set contains 39 of Moore’s English gentry loved them, many Irish best songs, and Flannery is accompanied nationalists concluded Moore was eli- on the Irish harp by Janet Harbison. tist. “Thomas But no matter. The tunes were Moore lived and snapped up by music lovers in Ireland wrote during and across Europe, which was enam- Above: Tom Moore. Right: Sheet music for “Tis The Last one of the dark- ored by the nationalist passion of Rose of Summer.” est periods of Moore’s sentiments. Moore was a Trini- Irish history — a ty classmate of Robert Emmet, whose The songs were kept alive in the 20th music seemed time when the execution in 1803 after the failed 1798 century by singers like John McCorma- increasingly cultural legacy of Uprising affected Moore deeply. ck, especially classics like “The Last Rose irrelevant, Gaelic Ireland was The advent of mass printing technol- of Summer” and “Believe Me If All especially to all but dead,” Flan- ogy fueled the book’s popularity even Those Endearing Young Charms.” In the anyone under nery said. “Instead further, especially in the United States, early 60s, the Clancy Brothers had a hit the age of 40. of turning his back where the collection was re-printed with with “The Minstrel Boy.” But that may on the dying ves- abandon in an era of weak copyright In the early 70s, Moore’s popularity soon change. tiges of that culture, laws. began to decline. His songs seemed to Moore sought to “By 1900, over 30 separate editions of fade from fashion with changing musi- 200 years of Moore’s revive and redirect its ‘Irish Melodies’ had been published in cal tastes. melodies energies outward. America,” wrote Irish music scholar Moore’s With the 200th anniversary of the Brian O’Donovan, host of Boston’s W.H.A. Williams in his book, “‘Twas publication of “Moore’s Melodies” in popular radio program, “A Celtic Only an Irishman’s Dream.’” 2008, it looks like Moore is mak- Sojourn,” thinks the anniversary will And “The Last Rose of Summer,” Tom ing a comeback. The milestone refocus attention on Moore’s work, Moore’s greatest hit, sold over one is giving academics, writers which, he pointed out, “suffered from million copies of sheet music in Moore Sightings and music lovers a underexposure in recent years.” the 19th century, according to chance to reflect on his Moore’s work “has its place in the Professor James W. Flannery, in Popular Culture status as a poet, lyri- best sessions, next to sean nos songs in Professor of Arts and Brooklyn’s Prospect Park has a bronze bust memorial to cist and polemicist, Gaelic, rebel songs popularized by the Clancys, or Shane McGowan’s Fairytale Humanities at Emory Uni- Thomas Moore, commissioned by the St. Patrick’s Society of Brook- as well as his place versity in Atlanta. in Irish history. of New York,” O’Donovan said. lyn in 1879 on the centenary of Moore’s birth. Ryder noted that contemporary Irish Moore’s legacy contin- Not to be outdone, Manhattan stepped in a year later, with a bust of One of the chief ued long after his death enthusiasts singers are also rediscovering Moore. He Thomas Moore in Central Park, at East 60th St., commissioned by the cited Nuala O’Connor’s RTE documen- in 1852. In Boston, a Friendly Sons of St. Patrick. behind the Moore revival is tary on Moore’s legacy, which featured Thomas Moore Club was In Dublin, there’s a statue of Moore on College Street near Trinity Church, quickly formed, as a way Professor Sean new interpretations of some of the and a plaque on the house where Moore was born. Ryder of the Melodies by Christy Moore, Luka of keeping the music In Wicklow, the poet is commemorated at the Meeting of the Avonmor and alive. And Moore’s songs National Uni- Bloom, Iarla Ó Lionáird, Emer Quinn Avonbeg Rivers, a tribute to Moore’s song, “The Meeting of the Waters.” were played alongside versity of Ire- and others. Handel, Mozart, and In Boston, there’s a restaurant named Lalla Rookh, named after Moore’s land, Galway. And just last month, “The Last Rose Rossini during Boston’s famous fable about a Persian princess. There are significant collections of He is project lead- of Summer” was played at the funeral of Peace Jubilee in 1869 by Moore’s works at the Boston Public Library, Burns Library at Boston er for the Thomas Patrick Hillery, former President of Ire- Patrick S. Gilmore, accord- College, and the Boston Athenaeum. Moore Hypermedia land, said Ryder. ing to Gilmore-scholar The Island of Bermuda boasts its own Tom Moore Tav- Archive, which aims Flannery, who will perform a recital Michael Cummings. ern, according to travel writer Betty Lowry. The tav- to compile the “com- of Moore’s melodies at the Linen Hall In 1879, the centenary of ern is on the site where Moore resided in 1804, plete poetical, musical Library in Belfast on August 21, notes, Moore’s birth, tributes took place in when he was assigned to the British Court and prose works of “The real importance of Moore is that he envisaged a better future for Ireland, New York City and Boston, where of Vice-Admiralty. Thomas Moore.” Similar John Boyle O’Reilly called Moore “an projects have been completed even while facing the bitter realities of original poet of splendid imagination.” on poets Walt Whitman and the present.”