Kevin Patrick Mostyn Family - Person Sheet
Kevin Patrick Mostyn Family - Person Sheet
NameSir Piers BUTLER 8th Earl Of Ormond, 14G Grandfather
FatherSir James BUTLER (1437-1487)
MotherSabine KAVANAGH (-1503)
Spouses
1Lady Margaret FITZGERALD 'the Great Countess', 14G Grandmother
FatherGerald FITZGERALD 8th Earl Of Kildare (<1480-1513)
MotherAlison FITZEUSTACE (~1458-1480)
Web Notes notes for Sir Piers BUTLER 8th Earl Of Ormond
1515 - Thomas Butler, the 7th Earl of Ormond and Peter's 1st cousin twice removed, died in 1515, leaving no male heirs. So Peter, the next living direct male descendant of James Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormond, became 8th Earl of Ormond in 1515.
1528 - Peter "resigned" as 8th Earl of Ormond, and his 3rd cousin, Sir Thomas Boleyn, grandson of Thomas Butler, the 7th Earl of Ormond, was created Earl of Ormond. Question: did Peter "resign" as Earl of Ormond under pressure from King Henry VIII, who wanted to marry Thomas' daughter, Anne? However, in 1528, Peter was created Earl of Ossory, perhaps as recompense for no longer being Earl of Ormond.
1538 - Thomas Boleyn died, and Piers again became 8th Earl of Ormond, until his death the next year.
From "A New History of Ireland," edited by Moody, Martin & Byrne, vol 3, ISBN 0-19-821739-0, 1976, p 8:
[Ireland about 1534] Inland from Waterford lay the great, mainly lowland, area controlled by the Butler earls of Ormond, or, during the period when the earls were absentees, by their local kinsmen acting as their representatives. . . . Tipperary was an Ormond liberty, but during the 15th century the earl seems to have claimed liberty rights in Kilkenny as well.
p. 9: The whole area enjoyed a substantial period of prosperity in the early 16th century, inspite of the disorder on the frontiers and of that caused by the feuds of the rival Butler houses, especially that between those of Cahir and Dunboyne, in County Tipperary.
Northern and much of central Tipperary was in the hands of various local Irish lords, who paid some sort of tribute to the earl of Ormond and recognised him as their overlord. Quite independent were the O'Carrolls of Ely . . . and the MacGillapatricks, two redoubtable foes on the northern frontier of the Butler lordship. . . . These families, technically within the Butler sphere of influence, were bitterly hostile to the earls of Ormond whenever they attempted to interfere in their affairs, and so tended to side with the earl of Kildare in his disputes with Ormond.
From "A New History of Ireland," edited by Moody, Martin & Byrne, vol 3, ISBN 0-19-821739-0, 1976, p 509:
In a well-known account of the state of Ireland about 1515, the complaint was made that, in addition to the Irish chiefs who were not subject to the rule of the king of England, there were more than 30 great captains of the English folk the followed the same Irish order. [S.P. Hen VIII, ii, 6-8]. These included the earl of Desmond, Lord Barry, Lord Roche, the Powers of Waterford, Sir Piers Butler, and all the captains of the Butlers of the county of Kilkenny and of the county of Fethard, the two Lords Burke of Connacht, and many others. There were large areas of the country that did not obey the English king's laws, and had neither justices nor sheriffs under the king, and all the English folk there were of Irish habit [wore Irish clothing], of Irish language, and of Irish conditions except in the cities and walled towns.
1528 Earl of Ossory 1st. Seneschal of the Liberty of Tipperary. Chief Governor of Ireland. Known as the "Red Piers".
PIERS, c. 1466-1539; succ. 1515, as 8th. Earl of Ormond; for his purported 1528 surrender of, and 1538 restoration to this earldom see: Butler Jo. Vol. 1 No.4 p.246; created 23 Feb. 1528, Earl of Ossory (in the Peerage of Ireland, in tail male) at Windsor (Cal. Carew MSS., 1515-74. Pp. 37-39); m. 1495, Margaret, da. of Gerald (FitzGerald), 8th. Earl of Kildare, and by her who d. 1542 had Nos. 14 & 15.
In the reign of King Henry VIII (1509-1547) a law was passed called the Statute of Absentees, which deprived of their possessions the Anglo-Irish landlords who had absented themselves from Ireland for a lengthy period of time. The estates of Ormond fell under this Act because the Earls of Ormond became great favourites of the three Lancastrian kings, Henry IV, V, & VI, and were induced to become absentees. The Ormond estates were afterwards bestowed on Sir Piers Butler.
In 1534 Silken Thomas the Geraldine rebelled against the Irish Government. Sir Piers, Earl of Ossory and his son, Lord James Butler, rendered special services to the Crown. The defection was so general, on account of the attachment to the Geraldines, and this rebellion cost the King such an excessive charge to put down, that he submitted to his Council whether his victory might not be considered as a new conquest of Ireland; and so all the lands of the Kingdom might be at his disposal. But being advised to the contrary, he caused the Statute of Absentees to be passed, vesting in the Crown the estates of the Earl of Ormond in county Carlow and Kildare, together with the lands of all the English Abbeys in Ireland, on the ground that these noblemen and their ancestors, by their long residence in England, had given occasion for their estates, which were given them for the defence and support of the Crown in Ireland, to fall into the hands of the wild Irish, who were the natural enemies of the Crown of England; and that in the late rebellion those who dwelt on these estates, instead of being aids to the King's forces, had been confederates of Thomas FitzGerald in his attempt to disinherit the king of his lands in Ireland. So for the good services of the king's cousin, Peter Butler, Earl of Ossory in Ireland and also in consideration of the good services of his son, James Butler, Treasurer of Ireland, the king granted Peter and James and their male heirs the lands of Carrickmagriffen, Killenaule, Roscrea, Ballinvy and Channanstown in County Tipperary. 28 Hen VIII. The actual possession of those lands at that time lay with the native Irish.26
About 153-32: Maolroona O'Carroll Chief of Ely was at war with Butler, earl of Ormond, a short time before his death. Maolroona's sons defeated Ormond, and took many horses, which were very valuable, also some ordnance, called Fubcuin.26
Known as the "Red Piers". 1st. Seneschal of the Liberty of Tipperary. Chief Governor of Ireland. Piers married Margaret FitzGerald, daughter of the 8th Earl of Kildare. This couple were great builders. They are credited with important additions to Granagh Castle in Kilkenny; they rebuilt another Butler castle at Gowran, Kilkenny; founded Kilkenny College (one of Ireland's oldest surviving schools) in 1536 and they were also responsible for work at Ormond Castle.
In the early years of their marriage Piers and his wife were reduced to penury by Sir James Dubh "Black James" Ormond, the ambitious agent, and bastard nephew, of the absentee Thomas, 7th Earl of Ormond. Such was their plight that they were forced to lurk in the woods where Margaret, being great with child and upon necessity constrained to use a spare diet (for her only sustenance was milk) she longed sore for wine; and calling her lord and a trusty servant of his, James White, unto her, she requested them both to help her to some wine. "Truly, Margaret', quoth Sir Piers, 'Thou shalt have store of wine within this four and twenty hours, or else thou shalt feed alone on milk for me'.
The next day following Piers, having intelligence that his enemy, the base Butler, would have travelled from Donmore to Kilkenny; notwithstanding he were accompanied with six horsemen, yet Piers having none but his lackey, did forestal him in the way, and with a courageous charge gored the bastard through with his spear. Piers himself then became Ormond's agent and presumably Margaret got her wine. But it required all his pertinacity to get himself recognised as the true heir to the earldom. The existence of two elder brothers would have been an insuperable stumbling block, had not both of them been born before their parents had received the necessary papal dispensation for marriage. Then there was the Boleyn bombshell.
Forced to give up Earldom of Ormonde to Anne Boleyn's father, Sir Thomas Boleyn, in 1529, after Henry VIII fell for her, in return Butler was created 1st Earl of Ossory. After the fall of Anne Boleyn 1536, and the death shortly after without male heir of her father, he succeeded in regaining Earldom of Ormonde, always numbered as 8th Earl (Boleyn not counted). Piers emerged from the interlude with two Earldoms and died the next year in 1539. He was the first of the earls of Ormond to be buried in St Canice's Cathedral.
1528 - Peter "resigned" as 8th Earl of Ormond, and his 3rd cousin, Sir Thomas Boleyn, grandson of Thomas Butler, the 7th Earl of Ormond, was created Earl of Ormond. Question: did Peter "resign" as Earl of Ormond under pressure from King Henry VIII, who wanted to marry Thomas' daughter, Anne? However, in 1528, Peter was created Earl of Ossory, perhaps as recompense for no longer being Earl of Ormond.
1538 - Thomas Boleyn died, and Piers again became 8th Earl of Ormond, until his death the next year.
From "A New History of Ireland," edited by Moody, Martin & Byrne, vol 3, ISBN 0-19-821739-0, 1976, p 8:
[Ireland about 1534] Inland from Waterford lay the great, mainly lowland, area controlled by the Butler earls of Ormond, or, during the period when the earls were absentees, by their local kinsmen acting as their representatives. . . . Tipperary was an Ormond liberty, but during the 15th century the earl seems to have claimed liberty rights in Kilkenny as well.
p. 9: The whole area enjoyed a substantial period of prosperity in the early 16th century, inspite of the disorder on the frontiers and of that caused by the feuds of the rival Butler houses, especially that between those of Cahir and Dunboyne, in County Tipperary.
Northern and much of central Tipperary was in the hands of various local Irish lords, who paid some sort of tribute to the earl of Ormond and recognised him as their overlord. Quite independent were the O'Carrolls of Ely . . . and the MacGillapatricks, two redoubtable foes on the northern frontier of the Butler lordship. . . . These families, technically within the Butler sphere of influence, were bitterly hostile to the earls of Ormond whenever they attempted to interfere in their affairs, and so tended to side with the earl of Kildare in his disputes with Ormond.
From "A New History of Ireland," edited by Moody, Martin & Byrne, vol 3, ISBN 0-19-821739-0, 1976, p 509:
In a well-known account of the state of Ireland about 1515, the complaint was made that, in addition to the Irish chiefs who were not subject to the rule of the king of England, there were more than 30 great captains of the English folk the followed the same Irish order. [S.P. Hen VIII, ii, 6-8]. These included the earl of Desmond, Lord Barry, Lord Roche, the Powers of Waterford, Sir Piers Butler, and all the captains of the Butlers of the county of Kilkenny and of the county of Fethard, the two Lords Burke of Connacht, and many others. There were large areas of the country that did not obey the English king's laws, and had neither justices nor sheriffs under the king, and all the English folk there were of Irish habit [wore Irish clothing], of Irish language, and of Irish conditions except in the cities and walled towns.
1528 Earl of Ossory 1st. Seneschal of the Liberty of Tipperary. Chief Governor of Ireland. Known as the "Red Piers".
PIERS, c. 1466-1539; succ. 1515, as 8th. Earl of Ormond; for his purported 1528 surrender of, and 1538 restoration to this earldom see: Butler Jo. Vol. 1 No.4 p.246; created 23 Feb. 1528, Earl of Ossory (in the Peerage of Ireland, in tail male) at Windsor (Cal. Carew MSS., 1515-74. Pp. 37-39); m. 1495, Margaret, da. of Gerald (FitzGerald), 8th. Earl of Kildare, and by her who d. 1542 had Nos. 14 & 15.
In the reign of King Henry VIII (1509-1547) a law was passed called the Statute of Absentees, which deprived of their possessions the Anglo-Irish landlords who had absented themselves from Ireland for a lengthy period of time. The estates of Ormond fell under this Act because the Earls of Ormond became great favourites of the three Lancastrian kings, Henry IV, V, & VI, and were induced to become absentees. The Ormond estates were afterwards bestowed on Sir Piers Butler.
In 1534 Silken Thomas the Geraldine rebelled against the Irish Government. Sir Piers, Earl of Ossory and his son, Lord James Butler, rendered special services to the Crown. The defection was so general, on account of the attachment to the Geraldines, and this rebellion cost the King such an excessive charge to put down, that he submitted to his Council whether his victory might not be considered as a new conquest of Ireland; and so all the lands of the Kingdom might be at his disposal. But being advised to the contrary, he caused the Statute of Absentees to be passed, vesting in the Crown the estates of the Earl of Ormond in county Carlow and Kildare, together with the lands of all the English Abbeys in Ireland, on the ground that these noblemen and their ancestors, by their long residence in England, had given occasion for their estates, which were given them for the defence and support of the Crown in Ireland, to fall into the hands of the wild Irish, who were the natural enemies of the Crown of England; and that in the late rebellion those who dwelt on these estates, instead of being aids to the King's forces, had been confederates of Thomas FitzGerald in his attempt to disinherit the king of his lands in Ireland. So for the good services of the king's cousin, Peter Butler, Earl of Ossory in Ireland and also in consideration of the good services of his son, James Butler, Treasurer of Ireland, the king granted Peter and James and their male heirs the lands of Carrickmagriffen, Killenaule, Roscrea, Ballinvy and Channanstown in County Tipperary. 28 Hen VIII. The actual possession of those lands at that time lay with the native Irish.26
About 153-32: Maolroona O'Carroll Chief of Ely was at war with Butler, earl of Ormond, a short time before his death. Maolroona's sons defeated Ormond, and took many horses, which were very valuable, also some ordnance, called Fubcuin.26
Known as the "Red Piers". 1st. Seneschal of the Liberty of Tipperary. Chief Governor of Ireland. Piers married Margaret FitzGerald, daughter of the 8th Earl of Kildare. This couple were great builders. They are credited with important additions to Granagh Castle in Kilkenny; they rebuilt another Butler castle at Gowran, Kilkenny; founded Kilkenny College (one of Ireland's oldest surviving schools) in 1536 and they were also responsible for work at Ormond Castle.
In the early years of their marriage Piers and his wife were reduced to penury by Sir James Dubh "Black James" Ormond, the ambitious agent, and bastard nephew, of the absentee Thomas, 7th Earl of Ormond. Such was their plight that they were forced to lurk in the woods where Margaret, being great with child and upon necessity constrained to use a spare diet (for her only sustenance was milk) she longed sore for wine; and calling her lord and a trusty servant of his, James White, unto her, she requested them both to help her to some wine. "Truly, Margaret', quoth Sir Piers, 'Thou shalt have store of wine within this four and twenty hours, or else thou shalt feed alone on milk for me'.
The next day following Piers, having intelligence that his enemy, the base Butler, would have travelled from Donmore to Kilkenny; notwithstanding he were accompanied with six horsemen, yet Piers having none but his lackey, did forestal him in the way, and with a courageous charge gored the bastard through with his spear. Piers himself then became Ormond's agent and presumably Margaret got her wine. But it required all his pertinacity to get himself recognised as the true heir to the earldom. The existence of two elder brothers would have been an insuperable stumbling block, had not both of them been born before their parents had received the necessary papal dispensation for marriage. Then there was the Boleyn bombshell.
Forced to give up Earldom of Ormonde to Anne Boleyn's father, Sir Thomas Boleyn, in 1529, after Henry VIII fell for her, in return Butler was created 1st Earl of Ossory. After the fall of Anne Boleyn 1536, and the death shortly after without male heir of her father, he succeeded in regaining Earldom of Ormonde, always numbered as 8th Earl (Boleyn not counted). Piers emerged from the interlude with two Earldoms and died the next year in 1539. He was the first of the earls of Ormond to be buried in St Canice's Cathedral.