Dunboyne was part of theLordship of Meath. The Petit family also had land holdings inMullingar. In 1227, Ralph Petit becameBishop of Meath. In that capacity, he founded a priory of the Blessed Virgin in Mullingar and he endowed this establishment with thetownland of Kilbraynan (or Kilbrena) in Dunboyne, along with the rectory of Dunboyne, its tithes and other ecclesiastical revenues.[1] A century later, Thomas Butler, son ofTheobald Butler, 4th Chief Butler of Ireland, married Sinolda, heiress ofWilliam le Petit. In 1324, Butler was createdBaron Dunboyne by prescription. In this way, the Dunboyne properties and titles passed to theButlers. In 1541, the barony was created by patent in thePeerage of Ireland.[2] The barons are alternately numbered from the early 14th century by numbers ten greater than the number dating to the patent (e.g. the 28th/18th Baron Dunboyne died May 19, 2004). The first baron of this sequence in turn married the heiress to an earlier line of Barons Dunboyne.
Fitzwalter George Probyn Butler, 17th/27th Baron Dunboyne (1874–1945)
Patrick Theobald Tower Butler, 18th/28th Baron Dunboyne (often known as Paddy Dunboyne; 1917–2004) (Headed the Irish Peers Association)
John Fitzwalter Butler, 19th/29th Baron Dunboyne (1951–2013)
Richard Pierce Theobald Butler, 20th/30th Baron Dunboyne (b. 1983)
Theheir apparent is the present holder's son Hon. Caspian Fitzwalter Butler.
Note As a Roman Catholic bishop, when the 12th/22nd baron inherited the titles, he feared that his vows of celibacy would lead to the extinguishment of the titles altogether. Following the refusal of the Pope to release him from his vows, heApostatised, embraced theChurch of Ireland and married late in life in the hope of fathering an heir. Following the death of a son in infancy, it looked like the title would indeed become extinct. However, a distant relative of the 2nd/12th baron was found in County Clare who succeeded to the title. His ancestry is as follows:
James Butler, 2nd/12th Baron Dunboyne married Margaret O'Brien. Their son,
Edward Butler married Elizabeth Dobbin. Their son,
James Butler married Janet Cantwell, daughter of Captain John Cantwell. Their son,
Michael Butler (died 15 Aug 1776) married Mary O'Leary. Their son:
James Butler (died 22 May 1784) married Bridget Sheehy, daughter of Bartholomew Sheehy. He lived at Cragnagowra,County Clare.[5] Their son:
James Butler, 13th/23rd Baron Dunboyne (born 25 July 1780), was the great-great-great-grandson of the 2nd/12th baron. He married Eleanor, daughter of David O’Connell, on 17 August 1799.
