Oliver Goldsmith is one of Ireland’s most famous writers. He wrote essays, poems, novels and plays. Some of the most famous of these include, The Deserted Village, The Vicar of Wakefield and She Stoops to Conquer. His friend the English writer, Samuel Johnson wrote of him that he ‘left scarcely any kind of writing untouched and who touched nothing that he did not adorn’.
Oliver Goldsmith was born on November 10th 1728. His place of birth is given as Pallas Ballymahon Co Longford but he may have been born near Elphin Co Roscommon. When he was two years old his father was appointed to the parish of Kilkenny West, Co Westmeath and the family moved to live at Lissoy between Ballymahon and Athlone. He contracted smallpox at the age of nine which caused facial disfigurement for the rest of his life. Goldsmith was educated at the diocesan school at Elphin, Co Roscommon and later in Edgeworthstown Co Longford. He entered Trinity College Dublin at age 16 in 1744 where he was a contemporary of Edmund Burke.
Goldsmith was not a diligent student. He liked to play cards, sing Irish songs and he learned to play the flute. He was involved in a riot in 1747 for which he was admonished and disciplined by the college authorities. He graduated with a BA degree in 1749. After college he lived with his mother until 1752. He then enrolled in the University of Edinburgh to study medicine. Goldsmith left Edinburgh in 1755 without qualifying as a doctor. He went on a walking tour of Europe. While in Europe he survived by teaching English and playing the flute.
In 1756 Goldsmith moved to London where his writings began to attract attention. During the next fourteen years, though he made a lucrative living from writing, he was frequently in debt because of his gambling and generosity. Some of his writings drew on his life experiences. One of his first works ‘The Traveller’, recalls some of his travels through Europe. His poem ‘The Deserted Village’ recalls the destruction a village and way of life, by wealthy landowners in Co Longford.
Goldsmith died after a short illness at the age of 45. There is a statue of him in the grounds of Trinity College Dublin and also in Ballymahon Co Longford. Goldsmith Hall in Trinity College and the library in Athlone Institute of Technology have been named after him.
Oliver Goldsmith died in the year 1744 On This Day.
Image taken from page 11 of ‘The works of Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Peter Cunningham’
OLIVER GOLDSMITH [TRINITY COLLEGE] REF-10858520 by infomatique on 2015-10-01 09:04:38