Biographies A-Z

Butler, Sir Edmund (c.1534–1602), Irish lord and rebel, was the second son of James Butler (qv), 9th earl of Ormond, and his wife Joan, daughter of James fitz Maurice…

Butler, Sir Edwin John (1874–1943), plant pathologist, was born 13 August 1874 at Kilkee, Co. Clare, the second son of Thomas Butler (d. 1919) and his wife, Annie (d. 1898), the daughter of James Barry of Co. Limerick. Thomas Butler's brother was Sir…

Butler, Sir Richard (1761–1817), 7th baronet, MP, was born 14 July 1761, probably at Garryhunden, Co. Carlow, eldest son among four sons and four daughters of Sir Thomas Butler (1735–72), 6th baronet, of Garryhunden, MP for Co. Carlow (1761–8) and Portarlington, Queen's Co. (1771–…

Butler, Sir Theobald (Toby) (c.1650–1721), lawyer, was the second of the five sons of James Butler (d. 1682) of Boytonrath, Co. Tipperary, and later of Shanagollen, Co. Clare, and his wife, Mary (d. a.1684), a daughter of James and Ellen Butler of Kilmoyler, Co.…

Butler, Thomas (d. 1419), prior of Kilmainham and deputy lieutenant of Ireland, was the illegitimate son of James Butler (qv), 3rd earl of Ormond, and an unknown woman. He rose to the position of prior of the Hospitallers of Kilmainham,…

Butler, Thomas (c.1424–1515), 7th earl of Ormond , was third son of James (qv), 4th earl of Ormond, and his first wife, Joan, daughter of William Beauchamp, Lord Abergavenny. Though born in Ireland he spent virtually his entire…

Butler, Thomas (1531–1614), 10th earl of Ormond , nobleman, was born in southern Ireland, eldest son of James Butler (qv), 9th earl of Ormond, and his wife Joan, daughter and heiress of James Fitzgerald, 10th earl of Desmond. He had six…

Butler, Thomas (1634–80), earl of Ossory , lord deputy of Ireland, was born 8 or 9 July 1634 at Kilkenny, the second, but eldest surviving, son, of the eight sons and two daughters of James Butler (qv), 12th earl and 1st duke of Ormond,…

Butler, Thomas O'Brien (1861–1915), composer, was born Thomas Whitwell in November 1861 in Cahirciveen, in the south-west of Co. Kerry. Details of his early life are scarce but he appears to have been a man of independent means who travelled extensively. His musical education was…

Butler (Thompson), Elizabeth (1846–1933), Lady Butler , military painter, was born 3 November 1846 at the Villa Claremont, near Lausanne, Switzerland, the elder daughter of Thomas James Thompson and Christiana Thompson (née Weller). The Thompsons were cosmopolitan in outlook,…

Butler, Walter (d. 1633), 11th earl of Ormond , nobleman, was the eldest surviving son of Sir John Butler of Kilcash and his wife, Catherine, daughter of Sir Cormac MacCarthy Reagh, and was nephew to Thomas Butler (qv), 10th earl of…

Butler, William Archer (1812?–1848), clergyman and professor of moral philosophy, was second son of Pierce Archer Butler and Anna Maria Butler (née Gallwey); their seven children were brought up as Roman Catholics by their mother, though the father, who had several times been…

Butler, William Deane (c.1794–1857), architect, was apprenticed to Samuel Beazley and studied under Henry Aaron Baker (qv) at the Dublin Society's school of architectural drawing, where he won a prize (1811). The Kildare…

Butler, William Francis (1838–1910), soldier and author, was born 31 October 1838 in a farmhouse at Ballyslateen, Golden, Co. Tipperary, youngest child among four sons and three daughters of Richard Butler (1792–1870), a modest landowner and large tenant farmer of Suirville, Co.…

Butler, William Francis Thomas (1869–1930), educationist and historian, was born 22 December 1869 at Canal St., Newry, Co. Down, eldest among three sons and three daughters of Thomas Butler, resident magistrate, and Annie Butler (née Barry). A leasing dispute had forced the Butler…

Butters, Mary (c.1770–c.1850), witch, was born in Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim, the scene of the infamous Magee Island witch trial of the previous century. At an early age she became a practitioner of ‘white’ magic, using herbal and superstitious remedies to cure…

Butt, Isaac (1813–79), barrister and politician, was born 6 September 1813 in the Rectory at Glenfin, Co. Donegal, the only son of Robert Butt (d. 1829), a Church of Ireland parson, and his second wife, Berkeley (née Cox), daughter of the Rev. R. Cox, of Dovish, Co. Donegal and a…

Butt, Mahmood (‘Mike’) (1927–88), restaurateur, was born 7 May 1927 in Nairobi, Kenya, into an Islamic Indian family of one daughter and five sons of Ahmed Butt, railway engineer, and Zakia Butt. He was educated at a catholic school in Nairobi. After running a fleet of hire cars…

Button, Sir Thomas (d. 1634), naval officer, was the fourth son of Miles Button of Worlton, Glamorgan, thrice sheriff of that county, and his wife, Margaret, daughter of Edward Lewis of Y Fan. He married Mary, daughter of Sir Walter Rice of Dynevor, Carmarthenshire, and may have…

Buxton, James (d. 1766), Whiteboy captain, came from Tubbrid or Killcoran, near Clogheen, Co. Tipperary. Little is known of his birth or parentage, although contemporary accounts suggested that he was a wealthy grazier worth £300 or £400 a year. Buxton,…

Byers, David (1953–2008), architect and civil servant, was born in January 1953 in Newry, Co. Down, the only son among three children of John Byers and his wife Phyllis. The family had links with Ballyjamesduff, Co. Cavan, where Byers spent much of his childhood and youth. He was…

Byers, Margaret (1832–1912), educationist, suffragist, and philanthropist, was born 15 April 1832 in Windsor Hill, Rathfriland, Co. Down, fourth child and only daughter of Andrew Morrow , farmer and mill operator, and Margaret Morrow (née Herron). After the death (c.1840…

Byers, Sir John William (1852/3–1920), obstetrician and folklore scholar, was the only child of the Rev. John Byers and Margaret Byers (qv) (née Morrow), presbyterian missionaries to China, and was born in Shanghai. His father was…

Byrne, Alfred (‘Alfie’) (1882–1956), politician, was born 17 March 1882 at 36 Seville Place, Dublin, eldest of seven children of Thomas Byrne, dockyard engineer, and Fanny Byrne (née Dowman). Educated at the CBS, Seville Place, he left…

Byrne, Charles (1761–83), giant, was born in Littlebridge, Co. Londonderry, of an Irish father and a Scottish mother. All his relatives were of normal height and his growth was caused by a tumour on his pituitary gland. By August 1780 he was said to be 8 ft (2.4 m) tall, with his…