Pierce Butler, 4th Viscount Ikerrin

Pierce Butler, 4th Viscount Ikerrin (c. 1677 – 1711) was an Irish peer, politician, and professional soldier who rose to the rank of brigadier general under Queen Anne. He was outlawed as a Jacobite in 1690, when he was probably still in his early teens, but was restored to his titles and estates in 1698.

Early life He was the elder of the two sons of James Butler, 3rd Viscount Ikerrin, and his wife Eleanor Redman, daughter and co-heiress of Colonel Daniel Redman of Ballylinch Castle, Thomastown, County Kilkenny, and his wife Abigail Otway. For this reason, his father gained the favour of the Catholic King James II of England, and became a captain in the Grenadier Guards. The 3rd Viscount died of smallpox in London in October 1688 and Pierce succeeded to the title.

Jacobite James II was deposed after the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and fled to France, and from there invaded Ireland. He summoned a Parliament, generally called the Patriot Parliament, at Dublin, in 1689.

Military career Like his father and his mother's father, he became a professional soldier. He was a Colonel of Foot from 1700 to 1705, and subsequently a Colonel of Dragoons. He appears to have been a skilled officer, and saw active service in Spain during the War of the Spanish Succession. He became Brigadier General shortly before his death.

He married secondly Olivia St. George, daughter of Sir Oliver St George, 1st Baronet, by his wife Olivia Thornton, and the widow of the prominent statesman Sir Robert Colville of Newtown House, Newtownards, but had no further issue. His widow, who made a third marriage to a Mr. Wroth of Epsom, Surrey, was buried at St James, Westminster, on 29 January 1723/4.

The 5th Viscount died young in 1711, and the title reverted to his uncle Thomas Butler, 6th Viscount Ikerrin. The next generation of Butlers gained the title Earl of Carrick, which they still hold.