Thomas Joseph Walsh (Wexford)
Thomas Joseph Walsh (Wexford 20 November 1911—Wexford 8 November 1988) was an Irish doctor, writer, and director and founder of the Wexford Opera Festival.[1]
Walsh graduated in medicine from University College Dublin in 1944.[1] He later had conferred honorary degrees of PhD and DLit from the university.[2]
He became chairman and artistic director of the Wexford Festival in 1951[3] and established its international recognition over 15 years while still working as an anaesthetist at Wexford County Hospital.[1] Karina Daly's history of the Wexford festival is titled Tom Walsh’s Opera - A history of the Wexford festival, 1951–2004.[4] Known locally as "Doctor Tom" he "inspired great affectioin, admiration, and, given his great learning, even a measure of awe".[2]
Walsh also wrote several books related to opera, covering 18th century Dublin, opera in Monte Carlo and the Second Empire in Paris.
- Walsh T J. Opera in Old Dublin 1819-1838. Free Press, Wexford, 1952.
- Walsh T J. Opera in Dublin 1705-1797. Allen Figgis, 1973
- Walsh T J. Monte Carlo Opera, 1879–1909. Gill and Macmillan, Dublin, 1975. ISBN 978-0-7171-0725-4
- Walsh T J. Second Empire Opera: The Théâtre Lyrique Paris 1851–1870 (History of Opera series). Calder Publications Ltd, 1981. ISBN 978-0-7145-3659-0