Thomas Butler, 10th Earl of Ormonde and 3rd Earl of Ossory, Viscount Thurles (c. 1531 – 22 November 1614), was an Irish peer and the son of James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond and Lady Joan Fitzgerald daughter and heiress-general of James FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Desmond. He was Lord Treasurer of Ireland and a very prominent personage during the latter part of the 16th century.
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He built the Tudor Manor House extension to Ormonde Castle on his estates in Carrick-on-Suir, South Tipperary. Much of his life was taken up with a fierce feud with his hereditary foe, Gerald FitzGerald, 15th Earl of Desmond, son of James FitzGerald, 14th Earl of Desmond. The two sides fought a pitched battle in 1565, the Battle of Affane. Butler's victory, not only in the field but also in the handling the political fallout, helped to spark the Desmond Rebellions. This struggle (1569–73 and 1579–83) desolated Munster for many years. Ormonde was a Protestant and threw his great influence on the side of Queen Elizabeth I and her ministers in their efforts to crush the rebels, although he was motivated as much by factional rivalry with the Desmond dynasty as by religion.
He married, firstly, Elizabeth Berkeley, daughter of Thomas Berkeley, 6th Lord Berkeley and Anne Savage. They separated in 1564 without issue.
He married secondly, Elizabeth Sheffield on 9 November 1582 at London. She was the daughter of John Sheffield, 2nd Baron Sheffield and Douglas, daughter of William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham. They had three children:
He married, in 1601, Helena Barry, daughter of David Fitz-James de Barry, 5th Viscount Buttevant, without issue.
The Earl also had an illegitimate son, Piers FitzThomas Butler of Duisk who married Catherine Fleming, by whom he had a son, Edward Butler, 1st Viscount Galmoye.
As the Earl died without legal male issue, the Earldom reverted in the male line, to the junior branch of the family through his brother John Butler of Kilcash.
| Peerage of Ireland | ||
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| Preceded by James Butler |
Earl of Ormonde 1546–1614 |
Succeeded by Walter Butler |