According to John O'Keeffe,[2] Thomas was a choirboy in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, but there is no other evidence for this.
He was organist at St Werburgh's Church, Dublin, from 10 December 1751 to 7 November 1754, when the organ was destroyed by fire.
[4] In late 1769, following a London repetition of the Dublin production of Amintas by George Rush (died 1780), to which Carter had written a new overture, he moved to London, obviously attempting to gain a foothold in operatic work,[5] which initially met with little success.
[6] Despite his long work as organist, it is surprising that Carter does not seem to have composed more organ music, except for one late publication.
[7] However, Carter excelled as a composer of songs, which were made popular during the fashionable open-air promenades in the Vauxhall Gardens.