Butler, Piers (d. 1464), lord of Cahir, son of James Gallda Butler, was head of the most gaelicised of the minor Butler clans in the mid fifteenth century. The Butlers of Cahir traced their decent from James Butler (qv), 3rd earl of Ormond, and his mistress Catherine of Desmond. Some time after 1433, Piers's father was granted the manor of Cahir, which became the family seat.
Piers inherited the leadership of his family in the 1450s, and continued to pursue a policy of greater independence from the control of the earls of Ormond. However, when John Butler (qv), 6th earl of Ormond, came to Ireland in 1462 to stage a pro-Lancastrian revolt, Piers rallied to his banner just like all the other leaders of the minor Butler clans. The revolt was a failure, and for his disloyalty Piers was attainted (January 1463). An indication of the independence of this minor lordship is that neither Piers nor his son Thomas seems to have made any attempt to have the attainder reversed; clearly they were not concerned with the goodwill of the Dublin administration. Nor were they concerned with good relations with the other Butler clans. The most important bone of contention was the manor of Carrick-on-Suir, which Earl John had granted to Piers c.1462–4, and which became the site of open warfare between the Butlers of Cahir, led by Piers's son Thomas, and James Butler of Kilkenny.
From the 1450s onwards the Butlers of Cahir charted their own independent course in Munster, and were not fully returned to comital control till the 1520s.