Theobald Butler (solicitor-general) (original) (raw)

Sir Theobald (Toby) Butler (1650-1721) was a leading barrister and politician in late seventeenth-century Ireland, who held office as Solicitor General for Ireland. He is mainly remembered for framing the civil articles of the Treaty of Limerick, and for his eloquent but unsuccessful plea to the Irish House of Commons against the passing of the Popery Act of 1703, which allowed any Protestant son of a Roman Catholic landowner to prevent his Catholic brothers from inheriting the family property. He was a much loved "character" in Dublin, and his great popularity shielded him from the penalties that he might otherwise have suffered as a result of his religious beliefs. Only his few enemies attacked him for his willingness to come to an accommodation with the new regime in order to preserve h