Thomas Butler of Garryricken

Colonel Thomas Butler of Garryricken (died 1738), also known as Thomas Butler of Kilcash was an Irish Jacobite soldier. He commanded a regiment, Thomas Butler's foot, during the Williamite War and fought at the Battle of Aughrim in 1691 where he was taken captive. His son John would, de jure, become the 15th Earl of Ormond. Birth and origins Thomas was probably born at Garryricken, near Callan, County Kilkenny, as the eldest son of Walter Butler and his wife Mary Plunkett. His father, known as Walter Butler of Garryricken (died 1700), belonged to a cadet branch of the Butler Dynasty, being the son of Richard Butler of Kilcash (died 1701), who was a younger brother of the 1st Duke of Ormond. Thomas's father had built Garryricken House around 1660. The Butler dynasty is an Old English family that descends from Theobald Walter, who had been appointed Chief Butler of Ireland by King Henry II in 1177. Thomas's mother was the only daughter of Christopher Plunkett, 2nd Earl of Fingall. Thomas is known as Thomas Butler of Garryricken or as Thomas Butler of Kilcash because he lived at Kilcash Castle and owned half of the Garryricken Manor; his brother John had the other half and lived at Garryricken House.