Richard Butler, 3rd Viscount Mountgarret (1578–1651) was the son of
Edmund Butler, 2nd Viscount Mountgarret
Edmund Butler, 2nd Viscount Mountgarret (c. 1562 – 1602), was the son of Richard Butler, 1st Viscount Mountgarret and Eleanor Butler.Burke, John (1832). ''A General and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire, ...
and Grany or Grizzel, daughter of
Barnaby Fitzpatrick, 1st Baron Upper Ossory
Barnaby Fitzpatrick (born ga, Brían Mac Giolla Phádraig) (c.1478–1575) was the last person to have claim to the kingship of Osraige; forfeiting his ancestral title in favour of being created the first Lord Baron Upper Ossory by King Henry ...
. He is best known for his participation in the
Irish Confederate Wars on behalf of the Irish Confederate Catholics.
Family
His sister, Helen Butler, married her second cousin,
Walter Butler, 11th Earl of Ormond
Sir Walter Butler, 11th Earl of Ormond and 4th Earl of Ossory (1559–1633), succeeded his uncle the 10th earl, in 1614. He was called "Walter of the Beads" because he was a devout Catholic, whereas his uncle had been a Protestant. King James ...
. Later, he was to clash politically with his grand-nephew James, the 12th Earl. His first wife was Margaret, eldest daughter of
Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone
Hugh O'Neill ( Irish: ''Aodh Mór Ó Néill''; literally ''Hugh The Great O'Neill''; – 20 July 1616), was an Irish Gaelic lord, Earl of Tyrone (known as the Great Earl) and was later created ''The Ó Néill Mór'', Chief of the Name. O'Nei ...
, who was the most powerful
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
noble in the country at the time. He especially distinguished himself by his defence of the castles of
Ballyragget
Ballyragget () is a small town on the river Nore in the north of County Kilkenny in Ireland. Ballyragget is on the N77 north of Kilkenny. As of the 2016 census, it had a population of 1,082 people.
Toponymy
The name 'Ragget' is Anglo-Norm ...
and Cullihill. His estates were nevertheless confirmed to him on the death of his father in 1605, and he sat in the parliaments of 1613, 1615, and 1634.
His younger brother was
John Butler John Butler may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*John "Picayune" Butler (died 1864), American performer
* John Butler (artist) (1890–1976), American artist
*John Butler (author) (born 1937), British author and YouTuber
*John Butler (born 1954), ...
.
Marriage and Children
By his first wife, Margaret, eldest daughter of Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, he had three sons and six daughters, of whom
*
Edmund Butler, 4th Viscount Mountgarret
* Margaret married another member of the Butler line,
Sir Walter Butler, 1st Baronet Polestown
Sir Walter Butler, 1st Baronet (died 1650) was an Irish nobleman. He was created a baronet, of Polestown, in the Baronetage of Ireland on 8 July 1645.George Edward Cokayne, editor, The Complete Baronetage, 5 volumes (no date (c. 1900); reprint, ...
.
The Viscount was again twice married: to Thomasine (afterwards named Elizabeth), daughter of Sir William Andrews of Newport, and to Margaret, daughter of Richard Branthwaite, serjeant-at-law, and widow of Sir
Thomas Spencer of
Yarnton
Yarnton is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire about southwest of Kidlington and northwest of Oxford. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 2,545.
Archaeology
Early Bronze Age decorated beakers have been found in the pa ...
, Oxfordshire, but he no issue by either of these marriages.
His third wife, Margaret, had lent £10 to the playwright
Elizabeth Cary, Viscountess Falkland in 1627.
Rebellion
In 1641 he placed himself in opposition to his powerful
Anglican cousin -
James, Earl (later the Duke) of Ormonde. At the commencement of hostilities in the
Irish Rebellion of 1641, he appeared inclined to espouse the Government side, and was appointed joint Governor of Kilkenny with the earl. Fearing, however, that the rights and liberties of his Catholic brethren would be still further interfered with, he wrote an explanatory letter to the Earl and took possession of Kilkenny in the name of the Confederates. He endeavoured to protect the lives and property of the Protestants, without relaxing his efforts for the side he had espoused. He then detached parties to secure other adjacent towns, which was done with such success that in the space of a week all the fortresses in the counties of
Kilkenny,
Waterford
"Waterford remains the untaken city"
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, pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe
, pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe
, pushpin_relief = 1
, coordinates ...
, and
Tipperary
Tipperary is the name of:
Places
*County Tipperary, a county in Ireland
**North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh
**South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel
*Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...
were in their power.
After this he was chosen general of the
Catholic Confederation which the rebels had formed to coordinate their war effort; but the
county of Cork had insisted on choosing a general of its own. Thus were lost the advantages of undivided and vigorous control of the Confederate armies. The Viscount's forces were thereby considerably weakened, and he was defeated by the Earl of Ormonde at the
Battle of Kilrush, near
Athy, on 10 April 1642. Returning to Kilkenny, he was chosen president of the Supreme Council (the Confederate Government) formed there in the following summer.
In 1643 he was at the
Battle of New Ross, fought by General
Preston against the
Marquis of Ormonde. He was also at the capture, with his son Edmund (Roe), of the Castle of Borris, in Queen's County (
Laois
County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medi ...
) in 1643. He was with the Lords Netterville,
Ikerrin
Ikerrin (Irish: ''Uí Chairín'') is a barony in County Tipperary, Ireland. This geographical unit of land is one of 12 baronies in County Tipperary. Its chief town is Roscrea. The barony lies between Eliogarty to the south (whose chief town is Th ...
, Upper Ossory, and Castlehaven at the siege of Ballinakill, which surrendered on 5 May.
Outlawry 1652 and restoration in 1662
Mountgarret was outlawed by Cromwell, and excepted from pardon for life or estate. His son-in-law
Sir Walter Butler, 1st Baronet of Polestown, was a supporter of the Government cause and was made Governor of Kilkenny in 1650. The Viscount died in 1651, and was interred in St. Canice's, Kilkenny.
[''Lodge's Peerage of Ireland'', Revised and Enlarged by Mervyn Archdall. 7 vols. Dublin, 1789.] Although he was dead before it passed, he was excepted from pardon for life or estate by the crown in the
Act of Settlement 1652 passed on 12 Aug. 1652, because of his participation in the rebellion of 1641. His son Edmund had the family estates restored following the
Act of Settlement 1662
The Act of Settlement 1662 was passed by the Irish Parliament in Dublin. It was a partial reversal of the Cromwellian Act for the Settlement of Ireland 1652, which punished Irish Catholics and Royalists for fighting against the English Parliam ...
.
See also
*
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 ...
References
*
Butlers of Polestown.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mountgarret, Richard Butler, 3rd Viscount
1578 births
1651 deaths
Richard
Irish generals
16th-century Anglo-Irish people
17th-century Anglo-Irish people
Butler
Butler
Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland