Sir Thomas Butler, 1st Baronet of Cloughgrenan (c.1578–1642), was an Irish nobleman, the illegitimate son of Sir Edmund Butler of Cloughgrenan (1534-c.1585) and grandson of James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond and 2nd Earl of Ossory (c.1496-1546). Sir Thomas was

High Sheriff of Carlow The High Sheriff of Carlow was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Carlow, Ireland from the 14th century until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replaced by the office of Carlow County Sheriff. The she ...

for 1612 and 1622. On 16 August 1628, he was created a

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

Cloughgrenan Cloughgrenan (also spelled Cloughgrennan, Clogrenan and Clogrennan) is a historic geographic location in Ireland which gives its name to two townlands in county County Laois and one in County Carlow, spanning a total area of . Cloughgrenan may ref ...

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic origi ...

near

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272. The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

) by King Charles I (1600–1649). He was a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

County Carlow County Carlow ( ; ga, Contae Cheatharlach) is a county located in the South-East Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Carlow is the second smallest and the third least populous of Ireland's 32 traditional counties. Carlow Cou ...

in the Irish House of Commons between 1634 and 1635, and again from 1639 until his death in 1642 His father, Sir Edmund, had three other legitimate sons with his wife, Eleanor Eustace, the second daughter of

Rowland Eustace, 2nd Viscount Baltinglass Roland Eustace, 2nd Viscount Baltinglass of Harristown, County Kildare, Ireland, was born in 1505 and died in 1578. He was the son of Sir Thomas Eustace (1480–1549), 1st Viscount Baltinglass and Margaret Talbot, daughter of Sir Peter Talbot of ...

: Pierce, James and Theobald. The two elder sons (Sir Thomas's half-brothers) were executed by their own uncle,

Thomas Butler, 10th Earl of Ormond Thomas Butler, 10th Earl of Ormond and 3rd Earl of Ossory PC (Ire) (; – 1614), was an influential courtier in London at the court of Elizabeth I. He was Lord Treasurer of Ireland from 1559 to his death. He fought for the crown in th ...

(c.1531-1614), at

Thurles Thurles (; ''Durlas Éile'') is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of the same name in the barony of Eliogarty and in the ecclesiastical parish of Thurles (Roman Catholic parish), Thurles. The cathedral ch ...

, during their rebellion in 1596. The third son, Theobald, was created Viscount Butler of Tulleophelim. In 1569,

Sir Edmund Butler Sir Edmund Butler (1534 – c. 1585) of Cloughgrenan (and the Dullough), was an Irish people, Irish noble and the second son of James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond and Joan FitzGerald, Countess of Ormond, Lady Joan Fitzgerald. He was a scion of the ...

led the Butler Revolt in direct response to the

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 ...

Sir Henry Sidney Sir Henry Sidney (20 July 1529 – 5 May 1586), Lord Deputy of Ireland, was the eldest son of Sir William Sidney of Penshurst, a prominent politician and courtier during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI, from both of whom he received ...

, who unjustly granted Sir Edmund's lands in Idrone,

, to the English adventurer

Sir Peter Carew Sir Peter Carew (1514? – 27 November 1575) of Mohuns Ottery, Luppitt, Devon, was an English adventurer, who served during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England and took part in the Tudor conquest of Ireland. His biography was written by h ...

. Sir Edmund's behaviour landed him in the gaol at the

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin. Until 1922 it was the se ...

, from which he then escaped. The escape was completed with the help of Fiach McHugh O'Byrne (1534-1597), Lord of Ranelagh and leader of the O'Byrne family, Clann Uí Bhroin, after which Sir Edmund made his way to Glenmalure. According to Emmett O'Byrne, Emmett O’Byrne’s entry on Fiach MacHugh O’Byrne in ''The Dictionary of Irish Biography'', Sir Edmund remained at Glenmalure for some time, during which he had an affair with Fiach's first wife Sadhbh, resulting in her divorce from Fiach, "her later marriage to Butler, and considerable enmity between the two men". Sadhbh was a daughter of Donall McCahir, chief of the sept of the Kavanaghs (Caomhánach) of Garryhill, and a great-great-granddaughter of Murrough Ballach Kavanagh, late 15th-century King of Leinster. Emmett O’Byrne believes Sadhbh bore Sir Edmund a son, Thomas, who became the 1st Baronet of Cloughgrenan. The Cloughgrenan lineage survives to the present day through the line of the Butler Baronets, Sir Richard Pierce Butler, 13th Baronet (b. 1940), and his heir apparent Thomas Pierce Butler (b. 1966), as well as through his younger cousin, James Richard Henry Ormonde Brooke (b. 1972) (great-great-grandson of Captain William C. Butler (1844-1914)), who were all educated at Eton College, Eton. Pierce Butler (American politician), Pierce Butler (1744-1822), one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, was the third son of Sir Richard Butler, 5th Baronet of Cloughgrenan (1699–1771), thus being a direct descendant of Sir Thomas Butler, 1st Baronet. The current family seat is the Ballintemple estate in County Carlow,

.''Debrett's Peerage & Baronetage'', Comprises Information Concerning the Royal Family, the Peerage and Baronetage, p. B 163.

Family

Sir Thomas married Anne Bagenal (née Colclough), daughter of Sir Thomas Colclough, with issue: Sir Edmund Butler, 2nd Baronet of Cloughgrenan (died before 1653).

References

• Hughes, James (1870)
"Sir Edmund Butler of the Dullogh, Knight"
''The Journal of the Royal Historical and Archaeological Association of Ireland''. 1 (1): 153–231. JSTOR 25506579. • ''An History of the Life of James Duke of Ormonde from His Birth 1610 to His Death 1688'', Thomas A. Carte, M.A. 6 vols. Oxford, 1851 • ''The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom Extant, Extinct, or Dormant'', G. E. Cokayne et al. {{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Sir Thomas, 1st Baronet 1642 deaths 17th-century Irish politicians Butler dynasty, Thomas Irish MPs 1634–1635 Irish MPs 1639–1649 Politicians from County Carlow High Sheriffs of Carlow Butler baronets, of Cloughgrenan Baronets in the Baronetage of Ireland Year of birth uncertain Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Carlow constituencies

Family

See also

References