Thomas Furlong (1794–1827) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

. Furlong was the son of a farmer, born at Scarawalsh, situated between

Ferns A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except th ...

and

Enniscorthy Enniscorthy () is the second-largest town in County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. At the 2016 census, the population of the town and environs was 11,381. The town is located on the picturesque River Slaney and in close proximity to the ...

County Wexford County Wexford ( ga, Contae Loch Garman) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was based on the historic Gaelic territory of Hy Kinsella (''Uí Ceinns ...

. He obtained an appointment in the

counting-house A counting house, or counting room, was traditionally an office in which the bookkeeping, financial books of a business were kept. It was also the place that the business received appointments and correspondence relating to demands for payment. A ...

of an extensive

distillery Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heati ...

at Dublin, where he continued until his death. His first work was a poem, ''The Misanthrope'' (Lond. 1819), composed, he stated, with the object of reclaiming a friend who, owing to early disappointments, had retired from society. It was withdrawn by the author on account of numerous typographical errors. He issued a second edition at Dublin in 1821, with other poems. A poem entitled ''The Plagues of Ireland: an Epistle'' appeared at Dublin in 1824, with a view to promoting

Catholic Emancipation Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, and later the combined United Kingdom in the late 18th century and early 19th century, that involved reducing and removing many of the restricti ...

. He described his work as "a little sketch and hasty picturing" of the more prominent evils and grievances which should be removed before that "harassed land" of Ireland could calculate on the enjoyment of tranquility. To ''The Plagues of Ireland'' Furlong appended a few "occasional poems". He contributed largely to the ''New Monthly Magazine'', as well as to other periodicals, and projected a literary journal at Dublin.

Thomas Moore Thomas Moore (28 May 1779 – 25 February 1852) was an Irish writer, poet, and lyricist celebrated for his ''Irish Melodies''. Their setting of English-language verse to old Irish tunes marked the transition in popular Irish culture from Irish ...

Charles Maturin Charles Robert Maturin, also known as C. R. Maturin (25 September 1780 – 30 October 1824), was an Irish Protestant clergyman (ordained in the Church of Ireland) and a writer of Gothic plays and novels.Chris Morgan, "Maturin, Charles R(obert). ...

and

Lady Morgan Sydney, Lady Morgan (''née'' Owenson; 25 December 1781? – 14 April 1859), was an Irish novelist, best known for ''The Wild Irish Girl'' (1806)'','' a romantic, and some critics suggest, "proto-feminist", novel with political and patriotic ov ...

praised his work. At the instance of

James Hardiman James Hardiman (1782–1855), also known as Séamus Ó hArgadáin, was a librarian at Queen's College, Galway. Hardiman is best remembered for his '' History of the Town and County of Galway'' (1820) and '' Irish Minstrelsy'' (1831), one of the f ...

, author of the ''History of Galway'', Furlong undertook to produce metrical versions in English of the compositions of Carolan and other native Irish poets. While engaged on this work, and on a poem entitled ''The Doom of Derenzie'', Furlong died on 25 July 1827 at Dublin, and was interred in the churchyard of Drumcondra. Of ''The Doom of Derenzie'' but one sheet had been revised by the author. It appeared posthumously (London, 1829). The poem treated the superstitions of the

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...

ry of Wexford. Several of Furlong's metrical translations, and a portrait of him, appeared in Hardiman's work on Irish

minstrel A minstrel was an entertainer, initially in medieval Europe. It originally described any type of entertainer such as a musician, juggler, acrobat, singer or fool; later, from the sixteenth century, it came to mean a specialist entertainer who ...

sy (London, 1831). One of his compositions was, in 1845, included in

Duffy Duffy may refer to: People *Duffy (surname), people with the surname Duffy or Duffey *Duffy (nickname) *Duffy (singer) (born 1984), Welsh singer, born Aimee Ann Duffy Places *Duffy, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Duffy, Ohio ...

's ''Ballad Poetry of Ireland''. Furlong is buried in the graveyard of

Drumcondra Church Drumcondra Church of Ireland is a Church of Ireland church located in Drumcondra, Dublin, previously in the Civil Parish of Clonturk. The church and its churchyard contain memorials to a number of notable historical figures. History In 1743 the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Furlong, Thomas 1794 births 1827 deaths Irish male poets Writers from County Wexford 19th-century Irish poets 19th-century male writers Burials at Drumcondra Church Graveyard