John Butler of Kilcash

John was born about 1537{{Efn|name=DoB|John's year of birth is bracketed between 1534, the birth of his older brother, and the death of his father in 1544, minus two gestations of his younger brothers James, Edward and Piers. 1537 seems a good estimate.}} in southern Ireland. He was the third son of James Butler and his wife Joan Fitzgerald.{{Sfn|Butler|1929|p=39|ps=. "John of Kilcash, the third brother, left one lawful son, Walter, an infant six months old when John died in 1570."}} His father was the 9th Earl of Ormond. His father's family, the Butler dynasty, was Old English and descended from Theobald Walter, who had been appointed Chief Butler of Ireland by King Henry II in 1177.{{Sfn|Debrett|1828|p=[https://archive.org/details/debrettspeerage01debrgoog/page/n218/ 640]|ps=. "Theobald le Boteler on whom that office [Chief Butler of Ireland] was conferred by King Henry II., 1177 ..."}}

His mother was a daughter of James FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Desmond. Her family were the FitzGeralds of Desmond, a cadet branch of the Old English Geraldines, whose senior branch were the FitzGeralds of Kildare. John had six brothers, which are listed in his father's article.

{{Chart top|width=auto|collapsed=no|align=right|clear=right|Family tree}}

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{{Tree chart|Txt|Txt=John Butler with wife, parents, and other selected relatives.{{Efn|This family tree is partly based on the condensed Butler family tree pictured in Dunboyne{{Sfn|Dunboyne|1968|pp=[https://archive.org/details/butlerfamilyhist00dunb/page/16/ 16–17]|ps=. "Butler Family Tree condensed"}} and on genealogies of the Earls of Desmond{{Sfn|Burke|1883|pp=[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015088438141&view=1up&seq=228 204–206]|ps=Genealogy of the earls of Desmond}} and Ormond.{{Sfn|Burke|Burke|1915|pp=[https://archive.org/details/b3136410x/page/1548/ 1548–1552]|ps=Genealogy of the earls of Ormond}} Also see the lists of siblings and children in the text.}}|boxstyle_Txt=border: 0 solid white; text-align: left;}}

{{Tree chart/end}}

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{{Tree chart|PieO8|y|MgtFG| |JmD10|y|AmyOB|boxstyle=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em;

|PieO8=Piers
8th Earl
1467–1539|boxstyle_PieO8=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em; background: lavender;

|MgtFG=Margaret
FitzGerald
c. 1473 – 1542

|JmD10=James
FitzGerald
10th Earl
d. 1529|boxstyle_JmD10=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em; background: wheat;

|AmyOB=Amy
O'Brien}}

{{Tree chart| | | |!| | | |,|-|-|-|'}}

{{Tree chart| | |JmsO9|y|JoanF|~|GdD15| | | |CrmMR|boxstyle=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em;

|JmsO9=James
9th Earl
1496–1546|boxstyle_JmsO9=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em; background: lavender;

|JoanF=Joan
FitzGerald
d. 1565

|GdD15=Gerald
14th Earl
c. 1533 – 1583
Rebel Earl|boxstyle_GdD15=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em; background: wheat;

|CrmMR=Cormac
13th Carbery
1490–1567}}

{{Tree chart| |,|-|-|-|^|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|.| | | |!| }}

{{Tree chart|ThO10|y|ElzSh| |EdmBt| |Sbjct|y|KthMC|boxstyle=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em;

|ThO10=Thomas
10th Earl
c. 1531 – 1614
Black Tom|boxstyle_ThO10=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em; background: lavender;

|ElzSh=Elizabeth
Sheffield
d. 1600

|EdmBt=Edmund
of
Cloughgrenan
1534–1602

|Sbjct=John of
Kilcash
d. 1570|boxstyle_Sbjct=border: 2px solid red; border-radius: 0.5em;

|KthMC=Katherine
MacCarthy
Reagh}}

{{Tree chart| | | |!| | | | | | | | |,|-|-|'}}

{{Tree chart| | |ElzBt|y|Prstn| | |WtO11|y|HlnBt|boxstyle=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em;

|Prstn=Richard
Preston
1st Earl
Desmond
d. 1628|boxstyle_Prstn=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em; background: wheat;

|ElzBt=Elizabeth
Butler
c. 1585 – 1628

|WtO11=Walter
11th Earl
1559–1633
'Beads'|boxstyle_WtO11=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em; background: lavender;

|HlnBt=Helen
Butler
d. 1631}}

{{Tree chart| | | | | |!| | | | | | |,|-|'| | | }}

{{Tree chart| | | | | |!| | | | | |Thrls|y|ElzbP|boxstyle=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em;

|Thrls=Thomas
Viscount
Thurles
d. 1619
d.v.p.*

|ElzbP=Elizabeth
Pointz
1587–1673}}

{{Tree chart| | | | | |!| | | |,|-|-|-|-|^|-|.| }}

{{Tree chart| | | | |ElzPr|y|JsDO1| | | | |RchKc|boxstyle=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em;

|JsDO1=James
1st Duke
1610–1688|boxstyle_JsDO1=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em; background: lavender;

|ElzPr=Elizabeth
Preston
1615–1684

|RchKc=Richard
of
Kilcash
1615–1701

|Frncs=Frances
Tuchet}}

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{{Tree chart|Leg|Leg=Legend|boxstyle_Leg=border: 0 solid white;}}

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{{Tree chart|SbjBx|SbjTx| |Bk1Bx|Bk1Tx| |Bk2Bx|Bk2Tx|

|SbjBx=XXX|boxstyle_SbjBx=border: 2px solid red; border-radius: 0.5em; color: white;

|SbjTx=Subject of
the article|boxstyle_SbjTx=border: 0 solid white; text-align: left;

|Bk1Bx=XXX|boxstyle_Bk1Bx=background: lavender; border-radius: 0.5em; border-width: 1px; color: lavender;

|Bk1Tx=Earls & dukes of
Ormond|boxstyle_Bk1Tx=border: 0 solid white; text-align: left;

|Bk2Bx=XXX|boxstyle_Bk2Bx=background: wheat; border-radius: 0.5em; border-width: 1px; color: wheat;

|Bk2Tx=Earls of
Desmond|boxstyle_Bk2Tx=border: 0 solid white; text-align: left;}}

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{{Tree chart/start|style=clear: both; font-size: 85%; width: 45em;}}

{{Tree chart|Txt|Txt=*d.v.p. = predeceased his father (decessit vita patris).|boxstyle_Txt=border: 0 solid white; text-align: left;}}

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On 26 May 1544 when he was still a little boy, his father, the 9th Earl of Ormond, granted him Kilcash as an appanage{{Sfn|Burke|Burke|1915|p=[https://archive.org/details/b3136410x/page/1549/ 1549, right column, line 57]|ps=. "3. John, of Kilcash, to whom his father granted lands by deed, 26 May, 1544; ..."}} as is attested by his territorial designation of Kilcash. The existing tower house{{Sfn|Somerset Fry|1997|p=220, 3rd column|ps=. "This consists of a six-storey tower-house with bartizan and high chimney stacks ..."}} at Kilcash was probably built at that time.{{Sfn|Breffny|1977|p=[https://archive.org/details/castlesofireland0000debr/page/146 146, line 1]|ps=. "James, ninth Earl of Ormond, granted the lands of Kilcash to his third son John Butler by deed dated 26 May 1544 and it was probably at that time that the tower-house with bartizans and tall chimneys was built ..."}}

Well he did so. Because only a bit more than a year later, on 28 October 1546, when John was about six, his father suddenly died in London having been poisoned during a banquet at Ely House,{{Sfn|Cokayne|1895|p=[https://archive.org/details/completepeerage06cokahrish/page/n149/ 148, line 6]|ps=. "He d. in London, 28 Oct. 1546, from the effects of poison taken on the 17th at supper at Ely House, Holborn ..."}} probably at the instigation of Anthony St Leger, who was Lord Deputy of Ireland and a political opponent. John's eldest brother Thomas succeeded as the 10th Earl.

John Butler of Kilcash married Katherine MacCarthy Reagh, the daughter of Cormac na Haoine MacCarthy Reagh, 10th Prince of Carbery{{Sfn|Lainé|1836|p=[https://archive.org/details/archivesgenealog05lain/page/n246/ 91, bottom]|ps=. "2. Catherine Mac Carthy, mariée 1e avec Jean Butler de Kilcash, fils puyné de Jacques Butler, 9e comte d'Ormon ..."}} and sister of Donal, later known as Donal of the Pipes, 17th Prince of Carbery.

{{Anchor|chldrn}}

John and Katherine had four children, two sons:

1. James Butler, died childless before September 1576;{{Sfn|Edwards|2004|p=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_0198613598/page/231/ 231, left column, line 1]|ps=. "He [Walter] emerged as heir to the Kilcash estate in co. Tipperary some time before September 1576 after the death without issue of his brother ..."}}
2. Walter Butler, 11th Earl of Ormond (1559–1633), known as "Walter of the Beads".

—and two daughters;

1. Joan, married Sir Oliver Shortall, knight.{{Sfn|Burke|Burke|1915|p=[https://archive.org/details/b3136410x/page/1549/ 1549, right column, line 61]|ps=. "1. Joan, m. [married] 1st Nicholas Shortall, of Upper Claragh, co. Kilkenny, and 2ndly Sir Oliver Shortall, Knt. of Ballylorcan, same co."}}
2. Eleanor, married Thomas Prendergast; their son James Prendergast was killed in 1627 by Edmond Butler, 3rd/13th Baron Dunboyne;{{Sfn|Burke|Burke|1915|p=[https://archive.org/details/b3136410x/page/1549/ 1549, right column, line 63]|ps=. "2. Eleanor, m. [married] Thomas Prendergast, of Newcastle co. Tipperary."}}{{Sfn|Lodge|1789a|p=[https://archive.org/details/peerageofireland04lodg/page/28/ 28, line 17]|ps=. "Eleanor, the second daughter, married Thomas Prendergast of Newcastle in Tipperary, Esq."}}{{Sfn|Lodge|1789b|p=[https://archive.org/details/peerageofireland06lodg/page/229/ 229]|ps=. "In 1628, his lordship having the misfortune to kill Mr. Prendergast, he was confined a prisoner in the Castle of Dublin ..."}}

Much of Kilcash's life was taken up with a fierce feud his family had with the Earls of Desmond. The Desmonds were the Ormonds' neighbours on the western and southern sides. Despite their enmity, these two families were both more or less Gaelicized Old English and had intermarried many times; the last such marriage having been that of Kilcash's parents as his mother was a Desmond FitzGerald. The Desmond wars should also be seen in the wider picture of the Tudor conquest of Ireland. In 1560 his mother's intervention secured a peaceful outcome to a stand-off at Bohermore (known as "the battle that never was").

In 1563 Kilcash was badly wounded in a fight with the Desmonds and his recovery was deemed uncertain.{{Sfn|Butler|1929|p=34, Note 6|ps=. "He had been badly wounded, so that his recovery was at first doubtful, in a conflict with the Geraldines in 1563."}} He was unable to participate in the private Battle of Affane, which was fought on 8 February 1565, only a bit more than a month after his mother's death.{{Sfn|McGurk|2004|p=[https://archive.org/details/oxforddictionary19matt/page/809/ 809, line 44]|ps=. "The death of Desmond's wife on 2 February 1565 ..."}} His stepfather, Gerald FitzGerald, 14th Earl of Desmond was taken prisoner in the battle{{Sfn|Joyce|1903|p=[https://archive.org/details/aconcisehistory00joycgoog/page/n160/ 146, line 15]|ps=. "Desmond, taken unawares, was defeated in a battle fought in 1565 at Affane in the County Waterford, and he himself was wounded and taken prisoner."}} after Kilcash's brother Edmund had shot him into the hip with his pistol.{{Sfn|McGurk|2004|p=[https://archive.org/details/oxforddictionary19matt/page/809/ 809, left column]|ps=. "On 8 February 1565 the two rival armies met at the ford of Affane on the Blackwater in co. Waterford. Desmond was wounded in the thigh and taken prisoner by Ormond, but soon released."}} Lord Ormond (his eldest brother) and Lord Desmond were called to London and promised to keep the peace.

{{Main|Desmond Rebellions}}

Kilcash could of course also not fight to suppress the Desmond Rebellions that were started in 1569 by James fitz Maurice FitzGerald, captain of the Desmond forces in the earl's absence. The captain was supported by many Irish in southern Ireland but also by some of Butler's brothers, notably Edmund.{{Sfn|Lee|1886|p=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofnati08stepuoft/page/80/ 80, left column]|ps=. "In June 1569 Sir Edmund, who had a personal hatred of Sidney, in temporary concert with some members of the Desmond family, broke into open revolt against the lord deputy."}} The rebellion was directed against Henry Sidney the Lord Deputy of Ireland. Kilcash's brother Thomas, Lord Ormond returned to Ireland landing at Waterford in July 1569{{Sfn|Lee|1886|p=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofnati08stepuoft/page/80/ 80, left column, bottom]|ps=. "He landed in Waterford in July 1569, and found Munster in the throes of a civil war, in which his brother Sir Edmund was matched against Sidney's lieutenant, sir Peter Carew."}} whereupon his brothers submitted quickly.

However, Edmund, Edward and Piers were attainted in April 1570{{Sfn|Lee|1886|p=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofnati08stepuoft/page/80/ 80, right column, line 7]|ps=. "In April [1570] Ormonde's three brothers Edmund, Edward and Piers, were attainted, and Ormonde passionately protested against the indignity."}} by an act{{which|date=December 2024}} of the Irish Parliament. That meant that Edmund ceased to be Ormond's heir presumptive and John, the next brother, took his place but only for about a month as he died on 10 May 1570.{{Sfn|Burke|Burke|1915|p=[https://archive.org/details/b3136410x/page/1549/ 1549, line 59]|ps=. "... d. [died] 10 May, 1570, leaving issue ..."}} John's eldest son, Walter, thereafter became heir presumptive. James fitz Maurice FitzGerald surrendered on 23 February 1573 and Gerald followed in September ending the first Desmond rebellion.

John Butler died on 10 May 1570 at Kilcash and was buried in Kilkenny.{{Sfn|Lodge|1789a|p=[https://archive.org/details/peerageofireland04lodg/page/28/ 28, line 8]|ps=. "John Butler of Kilcash, Esq.; who married Catharine, daughter of Cormac Mac Carthy Reagh, and dying at his seat 10 May 1570, was buried in Kilkenny ..."}}

{{Clear}}

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}

• {{Cite book|last=Breffny |first=Brian de |date=1977 |title=Castles of Ireland |publisher=Thames and Hudson |location=London |isbn=978-0-5002-7398-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/castlesofireland0000debr |url-access=registration}}
• {{Cite book|last=Burke |first=Bernard |author-link=Bernard Burke |date=1883 |title=A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire |edition=New |publisher=Harrison |location=London |oclc=499232768 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015088438141}} (for Desmond)
• {{Cite book|last1=Burke |first1=Bernard |author1-link=Bernard Burke |last2=Burke |first2=Ashworth Peter |date=1915 |title=A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage and Baronetage, the Privy Council, Knightage and Companionage |edition=77th |publisher=Harrison |location=London |oclc=1155471554 |url=https://archive.org/details/b3136410x/}}
• {{Cite journal|last=Butler |first=William F. T. |date=1929 |title=The Descendants of James, Ninth Earl of Ormond |journal=The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland |series=6th |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=29–44 |jstor=25513504 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25513504 |url-access=registration}}
• {{Cite book|last=Cokayne |first=George Edward |author-link=George Edward Cokayne |date=1895 |title=Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct, or Dormant |edition=1st |volume=VI |publisher=George Bell and Sons |location=London |oclc=1180818801 |url=https://archive.org/details/completepeerage06cokahrish/}} – N to R (for Ormond)
• {{Cite book|last=Debrett |first=John |author-link=John Debrett |date=1828 |title=Peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland |edition=17th |volume=II |publisher=F. C. and J. Rivington |location=London |oclc=54499602 |url=https://archive.org/details/debrettspeerage01debrgoog/}} – Scotland and Ireland
• {{Cite book|last=Dunboyne |first=Patrick Theobald Tower Butler, Baron |date=1968 |title=Butler Family History |edition=2nd |publisher=Rothe House |location=Kilkenny |url=https://archive.org/details/butlerfamilyhist00dunb/}}
• {{Cite encyclopedia|last=Edwards |first=David |editor1-last=Matthew |editor1-first=Henry Colin Gray |editor1-link=Colin Matthew |editor2-last=Harrison |editor2-first=Brian |editor2-link=Brian Harrison (historian) |date=2004 |title=Butler, Walter, eleventh earl of Ormond and fourth Earl of Ossory (1559–1633) |encyclopedia=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |volume=9 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |pages=230–231 |isbn=0-19-861359-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_0198613598/page/230/ |url-access=registration}}
• {{Cite book|editor-last=Fryde |editor-first=Edmund Boleslaw |editor-link=Edmund Fryde |editor2-last=Greenway |editor2-first=D. E. |editor3-last=Porter |editor3-first=S. |editor4-last=Roy |editor4-first=I. |date=1986 |title=Handbook of British Chronology |publisher=Offices of the Royal Historical Society |edition=3rd |series=Royal Historical Society Guides and Handbooks, No. 2 |location=London |isbn=0-86193-106-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/handbookofbritis0000unse/ |url-access=registration}} – (for timeline)
• {{Cite book|last=Joyce |first=Patrick Weston |author-link=Patrick Weston Joyce |date=1903 |title=A Concise History of Ireland from the Earliest Times to 1837 |publisher=M. H. Gill & Son |location=Dublin |edition=12th |oclc=815623752 |url=https://archive.org/details/aconcisehistory00joycgoog/}}
• {{Cite book|last=Lainé |first=P. Louis |date=1836 |title=Archives généalogiques et historiques de la noblesse de France |volume=Tome cinquième |trans-title=Genealogical and Historical Archives of the Nobility of France |chapter=Mac-Carthy |publisher=Imprimerie de Bethune et Plon |location=Paris |pages=1–102 |oclc=865941166 |language=fr |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/archivesgenealog05lain/page/n148/}}
• {{Cite encyclopedia|last=Lee |first=Sidney |author-link=Sidney Lee |editor-last=Lee |editor-first=Sidney |editor-link=Sidney Lee |date=1886 |title=Butler, Thomas, tenth Earl of Ormonde (1532–1614) |encyclopedia=Dictionary of National Biography |volume=VIII |publisher=MacMillan and Co. |location=New York |pages=79–81 |oclc=8544105

|url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofnati08stepuoft/page/79/}}

• {{Cite book|last=Lodge |first=John |author-link=John Lodge (archivist) |editor-last=Archdall |editor-first=Mervyn |editor-link=Mervyn Archdall (Irish antiquary) |date=1789a |title=The Peerage of Ireland or, A Genealogical History of the Present Nobility of that Kingdom |volume=V |publisher=James Moore |location=Dublin |oclc=264906028 |url=https://archive.org/details/peerageofireland05lodg/}} – Viscounts (for Viscount Mountgarret)
• {{Cite book|last=Lodge |first=John |author-link=John Lodge (archivist) |editor-last=Archdall |editor-first=Mervyn |editor-link=Mervyn Archdall (Irish antiquary) |date=1789b |title=The Peerage of Ireland or, A Genealogical History of the Present Nobility of that Kingdom |volume=VI |publisher=James Moore |location=Dublin |oclc=264906028 |url=https://archive.org/details/peerageofireland06lodg/}} – Viscounts, barons (for "Butler, Lord Cahier" — Dunboyne)
• {{Cite encyclopedia|last=McGurk |first=J. J. N. |editor1-last=Matthew |editor1-first=Colin |editor1-link=Colin Matthew |editor2-last=Harrison |editor2-first=Brian |editor2-link=Brian Harrison (historian) |date=2004 |title=FitzGerald, Gerald fitz James, fourteenth earl of Desmond (c. 1533–1583) |encyclopedia=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |volume=19 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |pages=809–811 |isbn=0-19-861369-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/oxforddictionary19matt/page/809/ |url-access=registration}} – 14th Earl of Desmond
• {{cite book | last=Somerset Fry | first=Plantagenet | title=Castles of Britain and Ireland : the ultimate reference book : a region-by-region guide to over 1,350 castles | publisher=Abbeville Press Publishers | publication-place=New York | date=1997 | isbn=0-7892-0278-6 | oclc=36308898 |url=https://archive.org/details/castlesofbritain0000some |url-access=registration}}

{{Refend}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, John, Of Kilcash}}

Category:1570 deaths

John

Category:16th-century Irish landowners

Category:People of Elizabethan Ireland

Category:Younger sons of earls

Category:Year of birth unknown

Category:16th-century Irish military personnel

Category:16th-century soldiers