Ormond, Thomas Butler, 10th earl of

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Ormond, Thomas Butler, 10th earl of [I] (1531–1614). ‘Black Tom’ Ormond inherited the title from his father at the age of 15 and was brought up as a protestant at the English court. From 1559 he was treasurer of Ireland and in 1588 was given the Garter, for zeal in tracking down the survivors of the Spanish Armada. Much of his life was spent campaigning in Ireland, in the 1560s and the 1580s against the earls of Desmond (Fitzgerald), his family's rivals, and in the 1590s with Essex against Tyrone. He died aged 83 having been blind for many years.

J. A. Cannon

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Thomas Butler 10th earl of Ormonde

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