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 of

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 ...

(a townland 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) by King Charles I (1600–1649). He was a Member of Parliament for County Carlow (Parliament of Ireland constituency), County Carlow 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: 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 (c.1531-1614), at Thurles, Ireland, during their rebellion in 1596. The third son, Theobald, was created Viscount Butler of Tulleophelim. In 1569, Sir Edmund Butler led the Butler Revolt in direct response to the Lord Deputy of Ireland, Sir Henry Sidney, who unjustly granted Sir Edmund's lands in Idrone,

, to the English adventurer Sir Peter Carew. Sir Edmund's behaviour landed him in the gaol at the Dublin Castle, 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, Ireland.''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