Who was the 8th Earl of Ormond

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A.� Thanks to rogerdavidge for the question - and I'd be interested to know the reasons for his interest. My thanks also go to John Butler, webmaster of www.butler-soc.org, for his help in answering the query.< xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

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Q.� So who was this noble

A.� John Butler writes: 'I am paraphrasing my father Lord Dunboyne's booklet Butler Family History. The eight Earl of Ormond was Piers Butler (known as 'Red Piers'), great-grandson of Sir Richard Butler of Knocktopher and he had been brought up in the Irish way. Piers was heir male of the 7th Earl ('The Earl of Wool'), but had quite a struggle to be recognised as such.

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'Sagas are told of penury and persecution in the early days of his marriage to Margaret Fitzgerald, daughter of the 8th Earl of Kildare, till Red Piers killed his malefactor Sir James Ormond, the ambitious agent and bastard nephew of the absentee Earl of Wool, thus gaining the job as the earl's agent.� Furthermore, Piers had two elder brothers who were more obvious contenders for the title till it was proven that they had been born before their parents had received the necessary papal dispensation for marriage!

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'Then in 1529, Henry VIII created Thomas Boleyn the Earl of Ormond, after making Red Piers, who had been governor of Ireland, Earl of Ossory. Ten years later, when the Boleyns had fallen out of favour, Red Piers reclaimed his title and died with two earldoms in 1539.'

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Q.� Where did this famous earl live

A.� Granagh Castle, a majestic castle on the banks of the Suir, about three miles from Waterford. Red Piers's wife Margaret, traditionally known as the 'Countess of Granny', was both feared and respected as she pursued the interests of the Butlers. She also brought weavers and tapestry makers from Flanders to Kilkenny. The castle remained in the Ormond family at least up to the 1640s. Captain Butler guarded it for the King during the English Civil War but fell to Cromwell's forces in 1650.

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Q.� And is it still there

A.� Yes - but it's rather dilapidated. It was repaired in 1824, then many of the locals carried off stone for building materials. It was restored again in the 1920s.

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Q.� And where can I get more information upon this

A.� The family tree of the male line of the Earls of Ormond is available on the Butler Society website, accessed from the news page 'Who is the Next Earl of Ormond '

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Steve Cunningham