Thomas Sheridan (1687 – 10 October 1738) was an Anglican divine, essayist, playwright, poet, schoolmaster and translator. He is chiefly remembered for his friendship with Jonathan Swift.
He was the father of Thomas Sheridan, a celebrated actor and elocutionist, who was in his turn the father of the celebrated playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan; he had two other sons and one daughter.[1]
His marriage was extremely unhappy, and, though in general a cheerful and easy-going man, he spoke of his wife with something close to hatred: "I have been tied to the Devil for 24 years".
In 1725 he was appointed a royal chaplain, but preached a sermon which was considered by some to be politically suspect, and his appointment was cancelled.[1] In compensation he was given a living at Drumlane in County Cavan, and in 1735 became headmaster of the Royal School Cavan, where he remained for three years.[1] Other appointments he is reputed to have applied for were the position of Dean of Kilmore and the position of headmaster of the Royal School in Armagh, but neither application was successful.[1]
Linley-Sheridan family
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He was friends with Jonathan Swift, and had a room permanently reserved for him in the Deanery; he was his principal collaborator and wrote his biography. Swift often stayed at Sheridan's country house in County Cavan and wrote part of Gulliver's Travels there[2][3][1] On the much debated question of whether Swift was secretly married to Esther Johnson ("Stella"), Sheridan was a strong if not conclusive witness that the marriage did take place; according to his friends his source for the story was Stella herself.
Like so many of Swift's friends, he was ultimately fated to quarrel with him irrevocably: in 1738, following Sheridan's recovery from an illness, Swift told him that he was no longer welcome at the Deanery.[1] Apart from Swift's increasing eccentricity, the cause of the quarrel is obscure: by one account Sheridan rebuked Swift for his growing avarice, a claim which Swift thought unforgivable.[1]
Death and reputationedit
Sheridan collapsed and died suddenly while having dinner at a friend's house in Rathfarnham, County Dublin.[1]
Swift before their final quarrel called him the best scholar in Ireland; Sir Walter Scott in his Life of Swift calls him "good-natured and light-hearted". Why he came to dislike his wife so much is unknown; Swift and others suspected that he sought consolation with other women.
^Robert Goode Hogan (1994), "Introduction", The poems of Thomas Sheridan, ISBN9780874134957
October 28, 2023
thomas, sheridan, divine, other, people, named, thomas, sheridan, thomas, sheridan, disambiguation, thomas, sheridan, 1687, october, 1738, anglican, divine, essayist, playwright, poet, schoolmaster, translator, chiefly, remembered, friendship, with, jonathan, . For other people named Thomas Sheridan see Thomas Sheridan disambiguation Thomas Sheridan 1687 10 October 1738 was an Anglican divine essayist playwright poet schoolmaster and translator He is chiefly remembered for his friendship with Jonathan Swift Contents 1 Family and early career 2 Friendship with Swift 3 Death and reputation 4 ReferencesFamily and early career editHe was born in Cavan Ireland the son of James Sheridan and grandson of The Reverend Dennis Sheridan 1 Two of his uncles were Church of Ireland prelates The Rt Rev William Sheridan Bishop of Kilmore and Ardagh and The Rt Rev Patrick Sheridan Bishop of Cloyne 1 After graduating from Trinity College Dublin he married Elizabeth MacFadden and the couple first lived in Dublin in King James s Mint 1 He inherited from his father in law a substantial property at Quilca near Mullagh in County Cavan He ran a school in Capel Street Dublin in the 1720s whose pupils included children of many prominent families such as Anthony Foster the future Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer and Philip Tisdall the future Attorney General for Ireland The school shut in the early 1730s having declined in reputation as Sheridan s health failed 1 He was the father of Thomas Sheridan a celebrated actor and elocutionist who was in his turn the father of the celebrated playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan he had two other sons and one daughter 1 His marriage was extremely unhappy and though in general a cheerful and easy going man he spoke of his wife with something close to hatred I have been tied to the Devil for 24 years In 1725 he was appointed a royal chaplain but preached a sermon which was considered by some to be politically suspect and his appointment was cancelled 1 In compensation he was given a living at Drumlane in County Cavan and in 1735 became headmaster of the Royal School Cavan where he remained for three years 1 Other appointments he is reputed to have applied for were the position of Dean of Kilmore and the position of headmaster of the Royal School in Armagh but neither application was successful 1 Linley Sheridan family The red border denotes singers and musicians The turquoise border denotes writers poets and playwrights The orange border denotes actors James SheridanWilliam SheridanPatrick SheridanThomas SheridanThomas SheridanThomas SheridanFrances ChamberlaineThomas LinleyAlicia SheridanBetsy SheridanRichard Brinsley SheridanElizabeth Ann LinleyThomas LinleyRichard TickellMary LinleySamuel LinleyMaria LinleyOzias Thurston LinleyJane LinleyWilliam LinleyThomas Le FanuAlicia Le FanuThomas SheridanCaroline Henrietta CallanderSheridan Le FanuWilliam Richard Le FanuRichard Brinsley Sheridan4th Baron Dufferin and ClaneboyeHelen SheridanEarl of GiffordGeorge Chapple NortonCaroline Sheridan9th Baronet Stirling MaxwellGeorgiana Sheridan12th Duke of SomersetMarquesses of Dufferin 1888 1988 Barons Grantley 1875 Dukes of Montrose among othersFriendship with Swift editHe was friends with Jonathan Swift and had a room permanently reserved for him in the Deanery he was his principal collaborator and wrote his biography Swift often stayed at Sheridan s country house in County Cavan and wrote part of Gulliver s Travels there 2 3 1 On the much debated question of whether Swift was secretly married to Esther Johnson Stella Sheridan was a strong if not conclusive witness that the marriage did take place according to his friends his source for the story was Stella herself Like so many of Swift s friends he was ultimately fated to quarrel with him irrevocably in 1738 following Sheridan s recovery from an illness Swift told him that he was no longer welcome at the Deanery 1 Apart from Swift s increasing eccentricity the cause of the quarrel is obscure by one account Sheridan rebuked Swift for his growing avarice a claim which Swift thought unforgivable 1 Death and reputation editSheridan collapsed and died suddenly while having dinner at a friend s house in Rathfarnham County Dublin 1 Swift before their final quarrel called him the best scholar in Ireland Sir Walter Scott in his Life of Swift calls him good natured and light hearted Why he came to dislike his wife so much is unknown Swift and others suspected that he sought consolation with other women References edit a b c d e f g h i j k l Sheridan Thomas 1687 1738 Dictionary of National Biography London Smith Elder amp Co 1885 1900 Charles Frederick Partington 1838 Sheridan Thomas The British Cyclopaedia of Biography Robert Goode Hogan 1994 Introduction The poems of Thomas Sheridan ISBN 9780874134957 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Thomas Sheridan divine amp oldid 1159504031, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
