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Richard Butler, 1st Earl of Arran (1639–1686) was
Lord Deputy of Ireland The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive (government), executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland ...
from 1682 to 1684 while
James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde Lieutenant-General James FitzThomas Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond, KG, PC (19 October 1610 – 21 July 1688), was a statesman and soldier, known as Earl of Ormond from 1634 to 1642 and Marquess of Ormond from 1642 to 1661. Following the failur ...
, his father, the
Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...
, was absent in England. He sat in the
Irish House of Lords The Irish House of Lords was the upper house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from medieval times until 1800. It was also the final court of appeal of the Kingdom of Ireland. It was modelled on the House of Lords of England, with membe ...
as Earl of Arran and in the English one as Baron Butler of Weston. When
William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford, FRS (30 November 1614 – 29 December 1680) was the youngest son of Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel, and his wife, the former Alethea Talbot. A Fellow of the Royal Society from 1665, he was a Royalist ...
was accused of treason during the
Popish Plot The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy invented by Titus Oates that between 1678 and 1681 gripped the Kingdoms of England and Scotland in anti-Catholic hysteria. Oates alleged that there was an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate C ...
, Arran braved the anti-Catholic hysteria and voted not guilty.


Birth and origins

Richard was born on 15 July 1639, probably in Ireland. He was the fifth son of James Butler and his wife Elizabeth Preston. His father was then the 12th Earl of Ormond but would be elevated to marquess and duke. His father's family, the
Butler dynasty Butler ( ga, de Buitléir) is the name of a noble family whose members were, for several centuries, prominent in the administration of the Lordship of Ireland and the Kingdom of Ireland. They rose to their highest prominence as Dukes of Ormonde. ...
, was
Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
and descended from Theobald Walter, who had been appointed Chief Butler of Ireland by King Henry II in 1177. Richard's mother was a second cousin once removed of his father as she was the granddaughter of Black Tom, the 10th Earl of Ormond. Her father, however, was Scottish,
Richard Preston, 1st Earl of Desmond Sir Richard Preston, 1st Earl of Desmond (died 1628) was a favourite of King James VI and I of Scotland and England. In 1609 the king made him Lord Dingwall. In 1614 he married him to Elizabeth Butler, the only child of Black Tom, the 10th Ea ...
, a favourite of
James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
. Both his parents were Protestants. They had married on Christmas Day 1629. Richard was one of ten siblings, but five of his brothers died in early childhood. He, his three surviving brothers and two sisters, are listed in his father's article.


Early life

In June 1647 Richard, together with
James Dillon, 3rd Earl of Roscommon Sir James Dillon, 3rd Earl of Roscommon ( – 1649) was an Irish magnate and politician. He was born a Catholic but converted at a young age to the Church of Ireland. He supported Strafford during his term as governor of Ireland. In the Confe ...
, was given as hostage to the English Parliament by his father. On 13 May 1662 he was created Baron Butler of Cloughgrennan, Viscount Tullogh and Earl of Arran (having purchased the
Aran Islands The Aran Islands ( ; gle, Oileáin Árann, ) or The Arans (''na hÁrainneacha'' ) are a group of three islands at the mouth of Galway Bay, off the west coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a total area around . They constitute the histo ...
) in the
Peerage of Ireland The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisi ...
, with a special remainder to his younger brother John, should his own male line fail. This precaution would prove inefficient as his younger brother died before him.


Marriages and children

Arran, as he was now, married twice. Both brides were rich heiresses. In September 1664 he married Mary Stuart, Baroness Clifton in her own right, daughter of James Stuart, 1st Duke of Richmond and 4th Duke of Lennox. She died in 1668 childless at the age of 16 and was buried in
St Canice's Cathedral St Canice's Cathedral ( ga, Ardeaglais Naomh Cainneach, ), also known as Kilkenny Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Church of Ireland in Kilkenny city, Ireland. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin. Previously the cathedral of the Dioc ...
, Kilkenny. He married secondly Dorothy, daughter of John Ferrers of
Tamworth Castle Tamworth Castle, a Grade I listed building, is a Norman castle overlooking the mouth of the River Anker into the Tame in the town of Tamworth in Staffordshire, England. Before boundary changes in 1889, however, the castle was within the edge of ...
and his wife Anne, daughter of Sir Dudley Carleton. Richard and Dorothy had four children: #James (1674–1676), died in infancy #Thomas (1675–1681), died in infancy #Charlotte (1679–1725), his only surviving child and heiress, who married Charles, 4th Baron Cornwallis #Thomas (1681–1685), died in infancy


Later life

On 27 August 1673, as a reward for his bravery in the sea fights against the Dutch in the
Third Anglo-Dutch War The Third Anglo-Dutch War ( nl, Derde Engels-Nederlandse Oorlog), 27 March 1672 to 19 February 1674, was a naval conflict between the Dutch Republic and England, in alliance with France. It is considered a subsidiary of the wider 1672 to 1678 ...
, Arran was also created Baron Butler of Weston in the
Peerage of England The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. In that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were replaced by one Peerage of Great Britain. There are five peerages in t ...
. In 1680, when the Catholic
William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford, FRS (30 November 1614 – 29 December 1680) was the youngest son of Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel, and his wife, the former Alethea Talbot. A Fellow of the Royal Society from 1665, he was a Royalist ...
was tried for high treason in the bogus
Popish Plot The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy invented by Titus Oates that between 1678 and 1681 gripped the Kingdoms of England and Scotland in anti-Catholic hysteria. Oates alleged that there was an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate C ...
, Arran was one of 31 peers who voted not guilty. As the most junior English peer, Arran was the first to cast his vote; his vote of "not guilty" took some courage, given the prevailing hysteria whipped up against anyone who cast doubt on the veracity of the supposed plot. However, 55 peers voted guilty and Stafford was executed. Arran was made
Lord Deputy of Ireland The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive (government), executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland ...
in April 1682 when his father, the
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the Kingdo ...
, travelled to England, and held the post until August 1684 when his father returned. This honour came to him because his elder brother Ossory, who had been deputy from 1668 to 1669 had died in 1680.}


Death and timeline

Arran died of
pleurisy Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity (pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant dull ache. Other sy ...
in London on 25 January 1686 and was buried in
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
. As he died without surviving male issue, and his brother John had died before him, his titles became extinct. His only daughter, Charlotte, inherited the estate, which she brought her husband when she married Lord Cornwallis in 1699. However, his three Irish titles would be recreated in 1693 for his nephew Charles Butler, who would be created Baron Butler of Cloughgrenan, Viscount Tullough, and Earl of Arran of the 1693 creation.


Notes and references


Notes


Citations


Sources

* * – 1660 to 1690 * * – Marriages, baptisms and burials from about 1660 to 1875 * – N to R (for Ossory under Ormond) * – Ab-Adam to Basing (for Arran) * * – England * – Scotland and Ireland * * – (for timeline) * – Viscounts (for Butler, Viscount Mountgarrett) * * *


External links

*http://www.pepysdiary.com/p/5826.php {{DEFAULTSORT:Arran, Richard Butler, 1st Earl of 1639 births 1686 deaths 17th-century Irish people
Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...
Earls of Arran (Ireland) Lords Lieutenant of Ireland Peers of Ireland created by Charles II Peers of England created by Charles II Younger sons of dukes