Thomas Butler Built Ormond Castle in Anticipation of a Visit From His Cousin, Queen Elizabeth I
Historical Significance:
Ormond Castle is widely considered the best example of an Elizabethan manor house in Ireland and contains exquisite decorative plasterwork, including a plasterwork portrait of Queen Elizabeth I.
Thomas Butler and Queen Elizabeth I:
Thomas Butler (1533-1603), the 10th Earl of Ormond, was born in Ireland. When he was about 10 years old, he was sent to England to be raised with other noble children in the English court. There, he met and began a close lifelong relationship with his distant cousin, Elizabeth (1531-1614), who would later become Queen Elizabeth I.
Thomas and Elizabeth were both outsiders in the English court. Thomas, being Irish, was looked down upon by his English peers. Elizabeth, the illegitimate daughter of Henry VIII that was never supposed to be queen, was similarly ostracized. This commonality bonded Thomas and Elizabeth early on and they had great affection for each other throughout their lives. Elizabeth even called Thomas, whose nickname was “Black Tom,” her “black husband.”
Accommodations Befitting a Queen:
The original castle was built sometime before 1315 along the River Suir in the town of Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary, Ireland. It was acquired by the Ormond Butlers and passed down through many generations.
In the early 1560s, Thomas began building a manor house in front of the existing castle in the hope that Queen Elizabeth would one day visit his home in Ireland. To make the house fit for a royal stay, he built it over two floors with a gabled attic and integrated two towers from the original structure. It featured a 60-foot-long gallery, a large limestone fireplace with carved stone, a ceiling with heraldic symbols, and state rooms adorned with intricate Elizabethan plasterwork portraits. The U-shape of the house surrounded a small courtyard.
At the time the manor house and castle renovations were completed in 1565, Ormond Castle was the country’s only significant unfortified dwelling. Unfortunately, despite two planned visits in 1602 and 1603, Elizabeth died before she could see it.
Castle Ruin and Restoration:
In the 1600s, Ormond Castle was a favorite residence of James Butler, the 1st Duke of Ormond, but the Butler family abandoned it after his death in 1688. After a lengthy period of deterioration, it was handed over to the Irish government to be restored in 1947.
Today, Ormond Castle has been wonderfully restored and is open to the public daily from the beginning of May until the end of September each year. Visitors can see the plasterwork and murals, including one of Queen Elizabeth I, along with historical documents.
Primary Sources:
- Britannica, The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia. “Thomas Butler, 10th earl of Ormonde.”
- O’Mahany, Flora (2018). “Royalty, Ruin and Restoration,” Irish Arts Review. 35 (2): 134–139.
- “Ormond Castle.” Heritage Ireland.
- Image 1 (Ormonde Castle): By Humphrey Bolton, CC BY-SA 2.0.
