George Henry Moore (1810-1870) was an Irish nationalist politician, Member of Parliament and tenant rights activist. He was one of the co-founders of the Tenant Right League, sitting in Westminster as part of the Independent Irish Party. Although a land-owning, moderate parliamentary nationalist with support from much of the Catholic hierarchy, he had also established contacts within the Irish Republican Brotherhood (I.R.B.) in the hope of creating an alliance, something which would later emerge after Moore’s death as the ‘New Departure’ strategy. Shortly before his death, local Ribbonmen launched a campaign of intimidation against Moore, who was a wealthy landowner in his native Mayo. Despite this, Moore’s reputation was largely positive amongst later generations of nationalists. Pádraig Pearse in From A Hermitage wrote: ‘George Henry Moore was no wrathful and haughty Mitchel, no gay and heroic Tone; but he was a very worthy and gallant figure in his time, and might have served Ireland well if he had learned to know her sooner.’

Writings

First Ideas For Irish Volunteers (1861)