general of the Catholic Confederation which the rebels had formed to coordinate their war effort; but the county of Cork had insisted on choosing a general of its own. Thus were lost the advantages of undivided and vigorous control of the Confederate armies. The Viscount's forces were thereby considerably weakened, and he was defeated by the Earl of Ormonde at the Battle of Kilrush, near Athy, on 10 April 1642. Returning to Kilkenny, he was chosen president of the Supreme Council (the Confederate Government) formed there in the following summer. In 1643 he was at the Battle of New Ross, fought by General Preston against the Marquis of Ormonde. He was also at the capture, with his son Edmund (Roe), of the Castle of Borris, in Queen's County (Laois) in 1643. He was with the Lords Netterville, Ikerrin, Upper Ossory, and Castlehaven at the siege of Ballinakill, which surrendered on 5 May. Outlawry 1652 and restoration in 1662 Mountgarret was outlawed by Cromwell, and excepted from pardon for life or estate. His son-in-law Sir Walter Butler, 1st Baronet of Polestown, was a supporter of the Government cause and was made Governor of Kilkenny in 1650. The Viscount died in 1651, and was interred in St. Canice's, Kilkenny. Although he was dead before it passed, he was excepted from pardon for life or estate by the crown in the Act of Settlement 1652 passed on 12 Aug. 1652, because of his participation in the rebellion of 1641. His son Edmund had the family estates restored following the Act of Settlement 1662. See also Butler dynasty References Butlers of Polestown. 1578 births 1651 deaths Richard Irish generals 16th-century Anglo-Irish people 17th-century Anglo-Irish people Butler Butler Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland