Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormond

"Piers Butler" redirects here. For other people of a similar name, see Pierce Butler.

Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormond, 1st Earl of Ossory (c. 1467 – 1539) also known as Red Piers (Irish Piers Ruadh), was from the Polestown branch of the Butler family of Ireland. In the succession crisis at the death of Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormond he succeeded to the earldom as heir male, but lost the title in 1528 to Thomas Boleyn. He regained it after Boleyn's death in 1538.

Piers Butler
Earl of Ormond
Tenure	1515–1539
Predecessor	Thomas, 7th Earl of Ormond
Successor	James, 9th Earl of Ormond
Born	1467
Died	26 August 1539
Noble family	Butler
Spouse(s)	Margaret FitzGerald
Issue Detail	James, Richard, & others. Edmund (illegitimate)
Father	Sir James Butler
Mother	Sabh Kavanaugh

Family tree

Piers Butler with wife, parents, and other selected relatives, among which the Boleyns. James 3rd Earl Ormond c. 1395 – 1405 Anne Welles d. 1397 James 4th Earl c. 1393 – 1452 Joan Beauchamp 1396–1430 Richard Butler 1396–1443 Catherine O'Reilly 1395–1420 James 5th Earl 1420–1461 John 6th Earl d. 1476 Thomas 7th Earl 1426–1515 Edmund MacRichard Butler 1420–1464 Catherine O'Carroll d. 1506 William Boleyn 1451 – 1505 Margaret Butler c. 1454 – c. 1539 James Butler d. 1487 of Polestown Sabh Kavanagh Thomas Boleyn c. 1477 – 1536 Piers 8th Earl 1467–1539 Margaret FitzGerald c. 1473 – 1542 James 10th Earl Desmond d. 1529 Anne Boleyn 1501 or 1507 – 1536 James 9th Earl 1496–1546 Joan FitzGerald d. 1565 Thomas 10th Earl c. 1531 – 1614 Black Tom Elizabeth Sheffield John of Kilcash d. 1570 Katherine MacCarthy Legend XXX Subject of the article XXX Earls of Ormond XXX Earls of Desmond

Birth and origins

Piers was born c. 1467, the third son of James Butler and Sabh Kavanagh. His father was Lord Deputy of Ireland, Lord of the Manor of Advowson of Callan (1438–1487). His father's family was the Polestown cadet branch of the Butler dynasty that had started with Sir Richard Butler of Polestown, second son of James Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormond.

His mother, whose first name is variously given as Sabh, Sadhbh, Saiv, or Sabina, was a princess of Leinster, eldest daughter of Donal Reagh Kavanagh, MacMurrough (1396–1476), King of Leinster.

Marriage and children

In 1485, Butler married Lady Margaret FitzGerald, daughter of Gerald fitz Maurice FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare and Alison FitzEustace. The marriage was political; arranged with the purpose of healing the breach between the two families. In the early years of their marriage, Margaret and her husband were reduced to penury by James Dubh Butler, a nephew, heir to the earldom and agent of the absentee 7th Earl, who resided in England. Piers Butler retaliated by murdering James Dubh in an ambush in 1497. He was pardoned for his crime on 22 February 1498.

Piers and Margaret had three sons:

1. James (1496–1546), also called "the Lame", who succeeded him as the 9th Earl and married Lady Joan FitzGerald, daughter and heiress of James FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Desmond
2. Richard (1500–1571), who became the 1st Viscount Mountgarret and married his first cousin Eleanor Butler, daughter of his uncle Theobald Butler
3. Thomas, who was slain by Dermoid Mac Shane, MacGillaPatrick of Upper Ossory, and left an only daughter Margaret, who was first married to Rory O'More of Laois and secondly to Sir Maurice Fitzgerald of Lackagh

–and six daughters:

1. Margaret, married firstly to Thomas, second son of the Earl of Desmond, and secondly to Barnaby Fitzpatrick, 1st Baron Upper Ossory and had issue.
2. Catherine (1506–1553) married 1stly Richard Power, 1st Baron Power, of Curraghmore (died 1535) and 2ndly James FitzGerald, 13th Earl of Desmond.
3. Joan (born 1528), married James Butler, 10th Baron Dunboyne
4. Ellice (1481–1530). Married firstly to MacMorrish; and secondly in 1503 to Gerald Fitzgerald, 3rd Lord Decies (1482–1533), grandson of James FitzGerald, 6th Earl of Desmond.
5. Eleanor, married Thomas Butler, 1st Baron Cahir
6. Helen, also called Ellen (1523–1597), married Donough O'Brien, 2nd Earl of Thomond, son of Conor O'Brien, Prince of Thomond, and Annabell de Burgh

The Earl had an illegitimate son, Edmund Butler, who became Archbishop of Cashel and conformed to the established religion in 1539.

Claims to the title

During the prolonged absence from Ireland of the earls, his father Sir James Butler (died 1487) had laid claim to the Ormond land and titles. This had precipitated a crisis in the Ormond succession when the seventh earl later died without a male heir. On 20 March 1489, King Henry VII appointed him High Sheriff of County Kilkenny. He was knighted before September 1497. The following year (1498) he seized Kilkenny Castle and with his wife, Margaret FitzGerald (died 1542), the dynamic daughter of the earl of Kildare, probably improved the living accommodation there. On 28 February 1498 he received a pardon for crimes committed in Ireland, including the murder of James Ormonde, heir to the 7th Earl. He was also made Seneschal of the Liberty of Tipperary on 21 June 1505, succeeding his distant relation, James Butler, 9th Baron Dunboyne.

Henry VII was succeeded by Henry VIII in 1509. On the death of Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormonde on 3 August 1515, Piers Butler became the 8th Earl of Ormond.

In March 1522, Henry VIII appointed him Chief Governor of Ireland as Lord Deputy; he held this office until August 1524 when he was succeeded by Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Kildare. However, he held on to the position of Lord Treasurer.

Loss of title

One of the heirs general to the Ormond inheritance was Thomas Boleyn, whose mother was Margaret Butler, second daughter of the 7th earl. Thomas Boleyn was the father of Anne, whose star was rising at the court of King Henry VIII of England. As the king wanted the titles of Ormond and Wiltshire for Thomas Boleyn, he induced Butler and his coheirs to resign their claims on 17 February 1528. Aided by the king's Chancellor, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, Butler was created Earl of Ossory instead.

Restoration of title

On 22 February 1538, the earldom of Ormond was restored to him.

Death and timeline

He died on 26 August 1539 and was buried in St Canice's Cathedral, Kilkenny.

Timeline
As his birth date is uncertain, so are all his ages. Italics for historical background.
Age	Date	Event
0	About 1467	Born
17–18	22 Aug 1485	Accession of Henry VII, succeeding Richard III of England
17–18	1485	Married Lady Margaret FitzGerald
28–29	1496	Eldest son born
41–42	22 Apr 1509	Accession of Henry VIII, succeeding Henry VII of England
60–61	18 Feb 1528	Resigned the earldom of Ormond
62–63	1530	Eldest son married Lady Joan Fitzgerald
70–71	Feb 1538	Regained the earldom of Ormond.
71–72	26 Aug 1539	Died

Ancestry

Ancestors of Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormond
James Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormond Sir Richard Butler of Polestown Anne Welles Edmund MacRichard Butler Gildus O'Reilly Catherine O'Reilly James Butler of Polestown Maelrony O'Carroll Catherine O'Carroll Piers Butler Donald Reagh Mac Murrough Cavenagh Sabina Cavenagh

See also

• Butler dynasty
• Ashfield Gales

Notes and references

Sources

• Bagwell, Richard (1885). Ireland under the Tudors. Vol. I. London: Longmans, Green, and Co. OCLC 761857292. – 1534 to 1558
• Beresford, David (October 2009). "Butler, Piers ('Piers Ruadh')". In McGuire, James; Quinn, James (eds.). Dictionary of Irish Biography (online ed.). Retrieved 13 May 2022.
• Burke, Bernard (1883). A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire (New ed.). London: Harrison. OCLC 499232768.
• Burke, Bernard; Burke, Ashworth Peter (1915). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage and Baronetage, the Privy Council, Knightage and Companionage (77th ed.). London: Harrison. OCLC 1155471554.
• Cokayne, George Edward (1895). Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct, or Dormant. Vol. VI (1st ed.). London: George Bell and Sons. OCLC 1180818801. – N to R (for Ormond)
• Duffy, Damien (2021). Aristocratic Women in Ireland, 1450-1660: The Ormond Family, Power and Politics. Woodbridge, Suffolk: The Boydell Press. ISBN 978-1-78327-593-9.
• Dunboyne (1968). Butler Family History (2nd ed.). Kilkenny: Rothe House.
• Edwards, David (2003). The Ormond Lordship in County Kilkenny: the rise and fall of Butler feudal power. Dublin: Four Courts Press. ISBN 1-85182-578-9. – (Snippet view)
• Edwards, David (1998). The Ormond Lordship in County Kilkenny, 1515–1642 (Ph.D.). Dublin: Trinity College. hdl:2262/77139. – (PDF downloadable from given URL)

• Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I., eds. (1986). Handbook of British Chronology. Royal Historical Society Guides and Handbooks, No. 2 (3rd ed.). London: Offices of the Royal Historical Society. ISBN 0-86193-106-8. – (for timeline)
• Graves, James (1857). The History, Architecture, and Antiquities of the Cathedral Church of St Canice, Kilkenny. Dublin: Hodges, Smith & Company.
• Hull, Eleanor Means (1926) [1st pub. 1926]. A History of Ireland and Her People To the Close of the Tudor Period. Vol. I. London: George G. Harrap & Company. OCLC 903883528. – To the Close of the Tudor Period (date of reprint unknown)
• Lodge, John (1789). Archdall, Mervyn (ed.). The Peerage of Ireland or, A Genealogical History of the Present Nobility of that Kingdom. Vol. IV. Dublin: James Moore. OCLC 264906028. – Viscounts
• Wright, Stephen (2004). "Butler, James, ninth earl of Ormond and second earl of Ossory (b in or after 1496, d. 1546)". In Matthew, Henry Colin Gray.; Harrison, Brian (eds.). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 9. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 151–153. ISBN 0-19-861359-8.

Further reading

• Ellis, Steven G. (2014). Ireland in the Age of the Tudors, 1447–1603 (2nd ed.). Abingdon: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-90143-3. – (Preview)