Tom Allen (born 21 October 1949), known professionally as T.R. Dallas, is a country and Irish singer and former Fianna Fáil member of Westmeath County Council. Born in Mount Temple, County Westmeath, Tom Allen is the brother of Tony Allen of the folk duo Foster and Allen. Tom worked in motor maintenance and sales, and started his showband singing career in 1970 with the Finnavons Showband, previously fronted by Gerry Black. A few years later he joined the Sailors Showband, and got his break in 1978 replacing John Glenn in The Mainliners, the backing band for Big Tom. In June 1980, Allen exploited the hype around the Dallas soap opera's "Who shot J.R.?" summer cliffhanger by adopting the name "T.R. Dallas" to release the novelty record "Who Shot J.R. Ewing?" which reached number 10 in the I