Edmund Casel was archbishop of Cashel

Archbishop of Cashel

The Archbishop of Cashel is an archiepiscopal title which takes its name after the town of Cashel, County Tipperary in Ireland. The title is still in use in the Roman Catholic Church, but in the Church of Ireland it was downgraded to a bishopric in 1838....

 and the illegitimate son of Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormonde

Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormonde

Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormond and 1st Earl of Ossory , also known as Red Piers, was from the Polestown branch of the Butler family of Ireland.-Claims to the title:...

.

Early Career

Casel studied at Oxford University, became a canon regular of St. Augustine

St. Augustine

-People:* Augustine of Hippo or Augustine of Hippo , father of the Latin church* Augustine of Canterbury , first Archbishop of Canterbury* Augustine Webster, an English Catholic martyr.-Places:*St. Augustine, Florida, United States...

, and was appointed prior of the abbey of that order at Athassel in the county of Tipperary

Tipperary

Tipperary is a town and a civil parish in South Tipperary in Ireland. Its population was 4,415 at the 2006 census. It is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, and is in the historical barony of Clanwilliam....

. In 1524, Butler was nominated by the pope to the archbishopric of Cashel, with permission to retain the priory of Athassel. The consecration of Butler took place in 1527. He was a member of the privy council in Ireland, held a provincial synod

Synod

A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...

 at Limerick

Limerick

Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...

 in 1529, and, on the dissolution of religious houses in Ireland, surrendered the abbey of Athassel to the crown.

Role in Politics

Butler was present in the parliament at Dublin in 1541 which enacted the statute conferring the title of 'King of Ireland' on Henry VIII and his heirs. The communication addressed to the king on this subject, bearing the signature of the Archbishop of Cashel, has been reproduced on plate lxxi in the third part of 'Facsimiles of National Manuscripts of Ireland.' Butler's autograph and archiepiscopal seal were attached to the 'Complaint' addressed to Henry VIII in 1542 by 'the Gentlemen, Inheritors, and Freeholders of the county of Tipperary.' This document also appears in the same 'Facsimiles.' A letter from Butler to the Protector, Somerset

Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset

Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp of Hache, KG, Earl Marshal was Lord Protector of England in the period between the death of Henry VIII in 1547 and his own indictment in 1549....

, in 1548, is preserved among the state papers in the Public Record Office

Public Record Office

The Public Record Office of the United Kingdom is one of the three organisations that make up the National Archives...

, London. In 1549-50 Butler took part at Limerick with James, Earl of Desmond, and the king's commissioners, in the enactment of ordinances for the government of Munster. References to Butler and his proceedings concerning public affairs in the districts of Ireland with which he was connected occur in the English governmental correspondence of his time.

Death

Butler died in March 1550-1, and was buried in the cathedral, Cashel, under an elaborate marble monument which he had erected, but which does not now exist.