SAMUEL LOVER R.H.A. (1797-1868)

Samuel Lover, an Irish author, born in Dublin in 1797, died July 6, 1868. His father, a stock broker in Dublin, intended him for commerce, but the son's natural predilections frustrated this design. His debut in public occurred at a dinner given to Thomas Moore in Dublin in 1818, when he sang a song, the music and words of which were his own, in honor of the poet. He now became a contributor to periodicals, and about 1830 published a volume of "Legends and Stories of Ireland," of which a second series appeared in 1834. He had in the mean while adopted the profession of a portrait and miniature painter. In 1839 he published "Songs and Ballads," comprising "The Angel's Whisper," "Molly Bawn," "The Four-Leaved Shamrock," "Rory O'More," etc. Some of his brief sketches of Irish character and even his songs were subsequently expanded into elaborate fictions, such as " Handy Andy" (London, 1842), "Rory O'More," and "Treasure Trove" (1844). He also wrote a number of successful plays, operas, and extravaganzas. In 1844 he conceived the idea of reciting and singing his own works in public. After a lucrative tour in the chief towns of the United Kingdom, he visited in 1847 the United States and Canada, with equal success.



Returning to England in 1848, he lectured on his transatlantic experiences, and then retired to private life. In 1859 he published "Metrical Tales and other Poems." During his latter years he received a pension of £100 a year. His " Life and Unpublished Works," by Bayle Bernard, was published in 1874.