Central Park In Bronze

Location:  61st Street, east side

Artist/Designer: Dennis B. Sheehan

Materials: Bronze, Conway green granite

Installation: 1879

Funding: Friendly Sons of St. Patrick

 

Thomas Moore (1779-1852) rose from humble origins in Dublin to become a prolific and popular lyricist, poet, and writer. He was a close friend of Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. Considered a romantic, Moore wrote to please the public. Here is an example of one of his satirical poems.

 

An Argument

 

I've oft been told by learned friars,
That wishing and the crime are one,
And Heaven punishes desires
As much as if the deed were done.

If wishing damns us, you and I
Are damned to all our heart's content;
Come, then, at least we may enjoy
Some pleasure for our punishment!

 

Moore visited the United States early in the 19th century and didn’t like it very much. However, the Irish immigrants who settled here loved Moore’s poetry and raised the funds to honor him in the Park.