Sir James Butler of Polestown (died 1487) was the eldest son of Sir Edmund MacRichard Butler

Edmund MacRichard Butler

Sir Edmund MacRichard Butler of Polestown was the eldest son of Sir Richard Butler of Polestown and adopted the Gaelic title of The MacRichard of Ossory.-Career:...

 and was a warlord

Warlord

A warlord is a person with power who has both military and civil control over a subnational area due to armed forces loyal to the warlord and not to a central authority. The term can also mean one who espouses the ideal that war is necessary, and has the means and authority to engage in war...

 in Yorkist Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

.

Career

James succeeded his father in 1464 as Lord Deputy to his absentee cousins John and Thomas, the 6th and 7th earls respectively of Ormond. As was his family's tradition, he had a long career as a Gaelic warlord which included raiding and rustling across southern Leinster

Leinster

Leinster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the east of Ireland. It comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Mide, Osraige and Leinster. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the historic fifths of Leinster and Mide gradually merged, mainly due to the impact of the Pale, which straddled...

.
He sided with the House of Lancaster

House of Lancaster

The House of Lancaster was a branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. It was one of the opposing factions involved in the Wars of the Roses, an intermittent civil war which affected England and Wales during the 15th century...

 against King Edward IV of England

Edward IV of England

Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...

 for which he was attainted; but when that King was settled on the throne, he overlooked this mistake in his conduct, and an Act of Parliament passed in Ireland, repealed all attainders, judgments, and outlawries, against him. The King, in consideration of his faithful services from that time, granted him, in April 1468 (among other things) the manor and advowson of Callan

Callan

-People:Callan is the birth place of some famous people, namely:* Edmund Ignatius Rice, founder of the Irish Christian Brothers and the Presentation Brothers* Callan also has links with Asa Griggs Candler's family and the Coca-Cola company....

 for life. And on 12 October 1477, he was constituted by John, Earl of Ormond, his attorney and deputy, to manage his lands in Ireland. In this way he ordered the reform of the town of Carrick-on-Suir

Carrick-on-Suir

Carrick-on-Suir is a town in South Tipperary in Ireland. As the name – meaning "the rock of the Suir" – suggests, the town is situated on the River Suir. The of the town gives the population as 5,906 and shows that it has grown by 5.7% since 2002...

. He was knighted, and built the castle of Nehorn near Gowran

Gowran

Gowran is a village and former town in County Kilkenny, Ireland. Gowran Park race course is located nearby. Gowran is located on the N9 national primary road where it is crossed by the R702 regional road.-History:...

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He died on 16 April 1487 and was buried in the priory of Augustine eremites at Callan, of which priory he was the founder.

Marriage and issue

Around 1480 he began a love affair with Sabh Kavanagh. Her parents were Donal Reagh MacMurrough-Kavanagh (a.k.a. Domhnall mac Gerald MacMurrough-Kavanagh), King of Leinster and an unknown daughter of an O'Nolan chieftain. Three children were born before James and Sabh were married. James later arranged for the Irish Parliament to declare them legitimate.

• Edmund Butler of Polestown
• Theobald Butler of Polestown
• John FitzJames Butler of Polestown whose only daughter and heir, Margaret, was married to Edmond Blanchville of Blanchvillestown, county Kilkenny.
• Alice Butler (or Ellice) the first wife of Sir George Fleming of Stephenstown, second son of James Lord Slane, and was mother of James, who by Ismay, daughter of the Chief Justice, Sir Bartholomew Dillon of Riverstown. Their son Thomas succeeded to the title of Slane.
• Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormond and 1st Earl of Ossory
  Earl of Ossory
  Earl of Ossory is a subsidiary title held by the Earl of Ormond that was created in the Peerage of Ireland in 1528.In 1525, King Henry VIII of England became enamoured of Anne Boleyn and began pursuing her. As Henry's infatuation for Anne intensified, so did her father's titles...
  
   (1487-1539), also known as (Irish
  Irish language
  Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
  
  Piers Ruadh) Red Piers.