Thomas Pooley, artist and politician, was born near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England, one of nine children (four sons and five daughters) of Thomas Pooley, attorney, and his wife, Mary. In 1652 the family moved to Dublin, where Pooley senior worked as an attorney. Thomas entered Gray's Inns in January 1664 and may have studied art in London. His early paintings of the three sons of Sir John Perceval of Charleville, Co. Cork, dated 1670, are notable, showing an authoritative directness of approach.

The influence of Sir Peter Lely on the beautifully rendered draperies and lace is discernible; Pooley is known to have copied paintings by this artist. By 1674 he was painting a portrait of Robert Southwell at the sitter's house in Spring Gardens, London. Two years later he returned to Ireland as a trooper in the train of Arthur Capel , earl of Essex, and the following year was executing a portrait of Sir William Petty , who was connected to the Southwell family. By 1682 Pooley was well known in Dublin; he painted portraits of King Charles II, and William III and Queen Mary for the corporation. The following year he was admitted to the guild of St Luke. He was not prolific; most of his paintings remain in private collections.