was important to the Butlers of Ormond for over 500 years. Following the arrival of the Normans in Ireland in 1169, Gowran and lands surrounding it were granted to Theobald Walter, 1st Chief Butler of Ireland, ancestor of the Butlers. He incorporated the town of Gowran sometime after 1177. He died in 1206. Gowran was the chief seat of the Butlers in Co. Kilkenny until James Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormond, and also called the Earl of Gowran, bought Kilkenny castle in 1391. Gowran and St. Mary’s Church were important to the Butlers from the time of Theobald Fitzwalter and his son Theobald Butler. However it was their descendant Edmund Butler, Earl of Carrick, who established the Collegiate Church in Gowran, who first chose to be buried there. He and his brother Thomas went on a pilgrimage to the Shrine of St. James the Apostle at Santiago de Compostela in Spain in 1321. He died in London on his return on 13 September 1321. He was buried in St. Mary’s Church on 10 November 1321. Other family names on monuments Agars - following the presence of the Butlers in Gowran for 500 years, the Cromwellian wars in Ireland, and the Cromwellian campaign in Gowran in 1650, Charles Agar came to Gowran from Yorkshire. Charles, his son James, and many of their descendants are buried in St. Mary’s church and commemorated on various monuments. Other family names include Kealy, Rothe, and Moran. There are also a memorial stained glass window to the memory of Aubrey Cecil White from Gowran, who was killed in the 1914-18 war in the battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916 aged 20 years, and a monument to James Agar, who died on 30 December 1733. Monuments Single Butler Knight Tomb – This is a mensa or table tomb. The single knight tomb was the first tomb carved in Gowran in the period 1500-1515. This tomb is believed to have been carved by the O Tunneys, the great Kilkenny stonemasons of this period. Two Butler Knight – also a mensa tomb, it seems to belong to the same period 1515-1527. Agar Monument – A large mural monument in classic style with Grecian pillars commemorates James Agar, who died in 1733. Burials Edmund Butler, Earl of Carrick James Butler, 1st Earl of Ormond James Butler, 2nd Earl of Ormond James Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormond Public access