Piers Butler, 3rd Viscount Galmoye

Piers Butler, 3rd Viscount Galmoye, also known as Viscount Galmoy, was born on 21 March 1652 and died on 18 June 1740. He was an Anglo-Irish nobleman and a descendant of the 10th Earl of Ormond. His parents were Edward Butler, 2nd Viscount Galmoye, and Eleanor White.

He married Anne Mathew, with whom he had one son, Colonel Edward Butler. Colonel Edward Butler was killed at the Battle of Malplaquet in 1709. Following the death of his first wife, Piers Butler married Henrietta FitzJames on 3 April 1695. Henrietta FitzJames was an illegitimate daughter of King James II of England and Arabella Churchill. She was previously married to Henry Waldegrave, 1st Baron Waldegrave.

In 1677, Lord Galmoye obtained a degree of LL.D. from Oxford University. During the reign of James II of England, he served as a Privy Councillor of Ireland, Lieutenant of the County of Kilkenny, and Colonel of the 2nd Regiment of Irish Horse. He was a member of the Jacobite Irish Army, where he commanded a regiment at the Battle of the Boyne and participated in the Battle of Aughrim. He was among the signers of the Treaty of Limerick.

After the Glorious Revolution, he potentially could have retained his estates in Kilkenny and Wexford if he had pledged allegiance to William III of England. Instead, he chose to follow James II into exile in France, which led to his attainder by the English Parliament in 1697 under the statute 9 Will. 3. c. 4, resulting in the forfeiture of his titles.

In 1692, he was created Earl of Newcastle in County Limerick in the Jacobite peerage of Ireland. While in France, he was appointed Colonel of the 2nd Queen's Regiment of Irish Horse and served in various battles of the War of the Spanish Succession. He achieved the rank of Lieutenant-General in the Spanish army. His military service included the siege of Roses in 1693 and serving as a Brigadier in the German army in 1694. Between 1701 and 1703, he served in Italy and other parts of Europe, participating in the Irish Brigade.

Later in his career, he served as a Lieutenant-General in the French army and was appointed Brigadier of Cavalry in 1694. Piers Butler died in Paris on 18 June 1740 and was buried at St Paul's Cathedral there. According to O'Callaghan, the family of the Galmoy viscounts had a tradition of military service across French and European armies, with notable members such as the Marquis de Lafayette reportedly acknowledging the reputation of the Butler family.

Despite his attainder, the title of Viscount Galmoy was assumed by his nephew, James Butler of the Irish Brigade in France. James was the son of Richard Butler of Galmoye, who was the brother of Piers Butler.

The Butler family remains a prominent dynasty with historical ties to Irish nobility and military service.

References for this biography include the Dictionary of National Biography, published by Smith, Elder & Co. between 1885 and 1900.