Isaac Butt

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Isaac Butt (September 6, 1813 - May 5, 1879) was the founder and first leader of a number of parties and organisations, including the Irish Metropolitan Conservative Society in 1836, the Home Government Association in 1870 and in 1874 the Home Rule League, subsequently known as the Irish Parliamentary Party. He also founded the Dublin University Magazine and for much of his life was a member of the Irish Conservative Party.

He was Member of Parliament for Youghal from 1852 to 1865, and for Limerick from 1871 to 1879. (At the 1852 general election he had also been elected for the English constituency of Harwich, but chose to sit for Youghal).

Butt was born in Glenfin, Co. Donegal, the son of a Protestant rector. He began his career as a Tory politician on Dublin Corporation. A brilliant barrister, he defended Irish leader Daniel O'Connell in court. His experiences during the Famine led him to move from being an Irish unionist and an Orangeman^[1] to becoming a believer in home rule. This led to his involvement in Irish nationalist politics and the foundation of the Home Rule League. Butt was instrumental in fostering links between Constitutional and Revolutionary nationalism through his representation of members of the Fenians Society in court. Butt gained notoriety for both himself and the Home Rule League as well as Fenians executed in England (the Manchester Martyrs incident.)

Butt's personal life was notorious. His chaotic finances led to a number of stays in a debtor's prison, while his sexual proclivities achieved legendary status, with members of his various parties describing his speeches being interrupted by heckling from women with whom he had fathered children.^[2] Along with this Butt failed to achieve anything in Westminster and many fenians along with tenant farmers were very unhappy with his gentlemanly approach to pass bills. Fenians believed obstruction would help achieve their goals in Westminster. Most home rule MPs disliked Butts methods also. They joined along with the more republican MPs to cause havoc in Westminster through obstruction. In Westminster MPs could stand up and talk for as long as they wished. In one cause they talked for 45 hours non-stop, stopping any important bills from being passed. Butt disapproved of this and was more and more disliked as days went by.

He resigned the leadership in 1879 and was replaced by William Shaw, who in turn was replaced by Charles Stewart Parnell in 1880.

He died in 5 May 1879 in Clonskeagh in Dublin. His remains were brought by train to Stranorlar, Co. Donegal where he is buried in a corner of the Church of Ireland cemetery beneath a tree in which he used to sit and dream as a boy.

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• This page incorporates information from Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page.