Thomas Sheridan

Conrad Brunstrom (Maynooth University)

Ed. by Nicholas Seager, University of Keele
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.05: English Writing and Culture from the Glorious Revolution to the French Revolution, 1689-1789.
Vol. editors: Paul Baines (University of Liverpool), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Nicole Kennedy (University of Newcastle), Pat Rogers (University of South Florida), Nicholas Seager (University of Keele), Sean Seeger (University of Essex)

Dates

Born 1719
Died 14 Aug 1788
Activity 1762-1788

Places

Born in Ireland, Republic of (Eire)
Active in Ireland, Republic of (Eire); United Kingdom

Activities

Primary

Theatre actor

Resources

The Sheridans can plausibly claim to be the most talented family in Irish public life in the eighteenth century. Thomas Sheridan (1719-1788), actor-manager elocutionist, was son to Thomas Sheridan, poet and clergyman, husband to Frances Sheridan, novelist and dramatist, and father to Richard Brinsley Sheridan, dramatist and politician.

The younger Thomas Sheridan emerges as one of the most intriguingly influential cultural figures of the eighteenth century. Equally significant as an actor-manager and as an elocution teacher, Sheridan exemplifies an eighteenth-century phonocentric agenda that regarded public speaking as an essential aspect of virtuous civic participation.

Born in 1719, either in Dublin or (possibly) in Quilca County Cavan, Thomas Sheridan was the son of a Church of Ireland clergyman who was also, significantly, one of Jonathan Swift’s closest friends. Sheridan claimed to have been befriended by...

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1223 words

Citation: Brunstrom, Conrad. "Thomas Sheridan". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 03 January 2017 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=13828, accessed 17 December 2025.]