Earl of Carrick (Ireland)

Earl of Carrick, in the County of Tipperary, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1748 for Somerset Hamilton Butler, 8th Viscount Ikerrin. The Butler family descends from Lieutenant-General Sir Pierce Butler. In 1629 he was raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Viscount Ikerrin, in the County of Tipperary. His great-great-grandson, the fourth Viscount, sat in the Irish Parliament of James II and was outlawed in 1689 after the accession of William III and Mary II. However, the outlawry was annulled in 1698 and he was able to take his seat in the Irish House of Lords. Lord Ikerrin later achieved the military rank of Brigadier-General.

His son, the fifth Viscount, died at an early age and was succeeded by his uncle, the sixth Viscount. He was a Protestant clergyman. His eldest son, the seventh Viscount, died as a child and was succeeded by his younger brother, the eighth Viscount. In 1748 he was made Earl of Carrick, in the County of Tipperary, in the Peerage of Ireland. His eldest son, the second Earl, represented Killyleagh in the Irish House of Commons. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the third Earl. He sat in the British House of Lords as an Irish Representative Peer between 1819 and 1838. His second son, the fifth Earl (who succeeded his elder brother), was a Captain in the Grenadier Guards and fought in the Crimean War.

He died unmarried and was succeeded by his first cousin once removed, the sixth Earl. He was the grandson of Lieutenant-General the Hon. Henry Edward Butler, second son of the second Earl. Lord Carrick was a Major in the Welsh Regiment. His son, the seventh Earl, was Comptroller of the Household to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1913 to 1915 and fought in the First World War, where he was mentioned in despatches. Lord Carrick had already in 1912 been created Baron Butler of Mount Juliet, in the County of Kilkenny, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, which gave him an automatic seat in the House of Lords.

His great-grandson, David, the tenth Earl, succeeded his father in 1992 and died on 8th January 2008.

Viscounts Ikerrin (1629)

*Pierce Butler, 1st Viscount Ikerrin (d. c. 1674)
*Pierce Butler, 2nd Viscount Ikerrin (1637-c. 1680)
*James Butler, 3rd Viscount Ikerrin (d. 1688)
*Pierce Butler, 4th Viscount Ikerrin (1679-1710)
*James Thomas Butler, 5th Viscount Ikerrin (1698-1712)
*James Butler, 6th Viscount Ikerrin (1683-1720)
*James Butler, 7th Viscount Ikerrin (1714-1721)
*Somerset Hamilton Butler, 8th Viscount Ikerrin (1719-1774) (created Earl of Carrick in 1748)

Earls of Carrick (1748)

*Somerset Hamilton Butler, 1st Earl of Carrick (1719-1774)
*Henry Thomas Butler, 2nd Earl of Carrick (1746-1813)
*Somerset Richard Butler, 3rd Earl of Carrick (1779-1838)
*Henry Thomas Butler, 4th Earl of Carrick (1834-1846)
*Somerset Arthur Butler, 5th Earl of Carrick (1835-1901)
*Charles Henry Somerset Butler, 6th Earl of Carrick (1851-1909)
*Charles Ernest Alfred French Somerset Butler, 7th Earl of Carrick (1873-1931)
*Theobald Walter Somerset Henry Butler, 8th Earl of Carrick (1903-1957)
*Brian Stuart Theobald Somerset Caher Butler, 9th Earl of Carrick (1931-1992)
*David James Theobald Somerset Butler, 10th Earl of Carrick (1953-2008)
*The Heir Incumbent is the 10th Earl's eldest son, (Arion) Thomas Piers Hamilton Butler, (b. 1975).

References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). "Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage" (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
* [http://www.angeltowns.com/town/peerage/ Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page]
* [http://www.thepeerage.com/ www.thepeerage.com]