The Irish poet Samuel Thomson (1766-1816), a native of the largely Presbyterian, Scots-speaking county of Antrim, experienced a brief period of fame during his lifetime when he became the first Ulster vernacular poet to publish a volume of his own verse, Poems on Different Subjects, Partly in the Scottish Dialect (1793). He quickly became a regular contributor of poetry to Belfast newspapers and journals and published a further two volumes of verse, both by subscription, in 1799 and 1806. Known in popular memory as the “Bard of Carngranny”, Thomson had been closely associated with many radical activists who participated in the 1798 Rebellion, although it has never been established that he actively took part in the armed …
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Citation: Orr, Jennifer. "Samuel Thomson". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 18 May 2011 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=12755, accessed 19 April 2024.]
