https://www.purcellfamily.org/photographs daily 0.75 2025-12-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/d5de4def-4f27-4805-91ac-995a78b2ec76/IMG_2529.jpeg Photographs - Make it stand out Major Raymond John Purcell, D.S.O., King’s Royal Rifle Corps had inherited Burton Park in Co. Cork in 1904. He was educated at Beaumont College and Oxford University. Both he and his younger brother, Lieutenant Charles Francis Purcell, Irish Guards, fought in World War I. When Charles was killed in action at the Battle of the Somme in 1916, Raymond became the last male of the Purcells of Burton Park. Although he survived the war, he died in 1928 from the trauma and effects of his war experiences. The Purcells of Burton Park are now represented by the Ryan-Purcells, who descend from Major Raymond Purcell’s sister Anita Purcell (Mrs. Ryan). Raymond Purcell was thrown into action from the very first months of World War I. In late 1914, his mother wrote a letter to Beaumont College, his Jesuit public school, giving news of him: “He left Southampton with the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Division. He has been fighting continuously since they have been often in trenches for more than five days at a time. From a letter written on 6 Oct he mentions that his machine gun had killed some two hundred Germans and that he had accounted for 15 with his own hand. On the 4 Oct his horse was shot under him when acting as assistant adjutant. He rescued a wounded man who was lying between the respective firing lines and carried him out of danger. A wire has just been received from the War Office saying that he was wounded on the 7 Oct. Unfortunately I cannot give you further news.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1589306223774-1RVBDR7MLMS9C45R6G02/IMG_0986.jpg Photographs https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1583074885475-9ILBMXZBDU6VJAPKP903/sc005cfaa6.jpg Photographs Foulksrath Castle in Co. Kilkenny was the seat of the Purcells of Foulksath from the 1400s until the Cromwellian confiscations of the 1650s. The Purcells of Foulksrath were a junior branch of the Purcells of Loughmoe. In the 20th century, the late Hubert Butler, co-founder of The Butler Society, saved the castle from destruction by persuading its owner not to pull it down. In the 1990s, it was a youth hostel. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/793718f1-1aed-4bb4-936a-b08de59e5681/Image+1-17-24+at+5.37+PM.jpg Photographs - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/e574d667-56fd-4d0f-9f75-4b7998563b08/IMG_0286.jpeg Photographs - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1583076930815-RND8NNRKYUI6SRQHXJ3C/sc001a55eb.jpg Photographs ABOVE: Grave slab on the floor of St. Canice’s Cathedral, Kilkenny of Captain Edmund Purcell (d. 1549), captain of the Earl of Ormond’s gallowglasses. Gallowglasses were in effect mercenaries, often from the west of Scotland. They were armoured heavy infantrymen. By May 1544, James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond, had raised 200 light infantrymen (kerne) in response to King Henry VIII’s call for troops to fight in Scotland and France. Lord Ormond’s nephew James Butler (brother of the Lord Dunboyne) was named captain commanding 100 of these soldiers, and Edmund Purcell was named captain commanding the other 100 infantrymen. These were part of an Irish force of 1000 soldiers, “picked men”, who travelled to England, half of whom were designated to fight in Scotland and the other half to participate in Henry VIII’s invasion of France. BELOW: The image below shows how these Irish kerne would have looked at the siege of Boulogne in 1544. It is an engraving taken from a contemporary painting later destroyed in a fire. The Irish soldiers, led by a piper and preceded by captured cattle, wear coats and mantles and carry darts or spears. Some have swords. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1586000177435-KZQFG3TARUM5GXKZYLPT/IMG_0830.jpg Photographs This tomb of a Purcell couple may be seen in the ruins of St. John’s Priory, Kilkenny. Canon Carrigan, the historian of the Diocese of Ossory, thought that this was probably the tomb of Edmund Purcell of Ballyfoyle (the head of the Ballyfoyle branch of the Purcells of Loughmoe) and his wife Margaret Cantwell. Edmund Purcell, on horseback, was slain in 1625 in Kilkenny by a blow to his neck from the sword of a Blanchville (Blanchfield) during a quarrel with Sir Edmund Blanchville. Edmund Purcell’s son Philip Purcell of Ballyfoyle Castle was one of the leaders of the Catholic Confederation in the 1640s. Philip married Ellen Butler, daughter of the 3rd Viscount Mountgarret, the head of a junior line of the Butlers of Ormond. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1e22704e-46dd-4ada-9fd9-e07ee5af6217/IMG-20220122-WA0000.jpg Photographs - Make it stand out Loughmoe Castle, seen from the front, as it looks today https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1588524094786-U3PO0BJMSBT4PL9TE120/Damerham-feat-IMG_4961-1080x675.jpg Photographs A portrait of Major Richard Guy Purcell, M.C., Royal Garrison Artillery. Also, a photograph of the temporary wooden cross that used to mark his war grave in France, until a permanent stone marker was put in place at the Faubourg d’Amiens British Cemetery, Arras, France. The wooden cross is now in St. George’s Church, Damerham, Hampshire. Major Richard Guy Purcell (1888-1918), of White House, Ferring, Worthing in England, was the highest ranking Purcell to die as a soldier in the British Army in World War I. He was killed in action near Tilloy Wood in France in March 1918 at age 30 during the defense of Arras. The Military Cross was awarded to him posthumously. He was survived by his young widow, his daughter Margaret Francesca Mary Purcell (age 1), and his father. Major Purcell was commissioned a Second Lieutenant of Artillery in 1907 after completing training at the Royal Military Academy. He was the son of Colonel Matthew H. Purcell, Royal Engineers, son of Rear Admiral Edward Purcell, Royal Navy (who as a young midshipman served in sea engagements during the Napoleonic Wars), son of Captain Tobias Purcell, 1st Fencible Light Dragoons, of Timogue Castle, Co. Laois, Ireland, who was a descendant of a junior line of the Purcells of Loughmoe. Major Purcell’s only child, Margaret Purcell (Mrs. Harry Bernard Hollick), was the mother of the former Fiona Mary Francesca Hollick, now Fiona, Duchess of Leinster, spouse of Maurice FitzGerald, 9th Duke of Leinster. Major Richard Guy Purcell had a brother, Vivian Purcell (1882-1954) (a first class cricketer in India, 1911-1912) who served during World War I as a Major, Royal Engineers. His son, Brigadier Francis Henry Vivian Purcell (1906-2014), who lived to age 107, had a long Royal Army career, including as a Royal Artillery officer during World War II. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1583067521070-88G3XQHZEZAX0FOWUUGX/sc00236920.jpg Photographs Loughmoe Castle in the 1920s or early 1930s. Recent testing has determined that the oldest surviving section of the castle, the south tower or keep, on the far right of the photograph, was built between 1444 and 1494. James Purcell, alive in 1465, was Baron of Loughmoe during some of this period. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1583964263384-KXNFBROYRSEX3FYTS9VE/IMG_0532.jpg Photographs Portrait of Lieutenant Colonel John Purcell (died 1852), husband of the heiress Mary Frances FitzGerald. After his wife inherited from her father, John Purcell took the name and arms of FitzGerald in 1818 and became John FitzGerald. They owned the castle at the Little Island, Co. Waterford, a photograph of which appears in the Heraldry section of this website. He was a Member of Parliament and was High Sheriff of Suffolk. His elder son changed their surname to Purcell-FitzGerald in 1858. The younger son, Edward FitzGerald (who until age 9 in 1818 was Edward Purcell), was the translator of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1583078660995-297R0KQDFOC981Q3XTGD/9190624.jpg Photographs Engraving of Colonel Baron Johann Purcell von Rorestown, who was born in Vukovár, Croatia in 1771 and died in Szekler Neumarkt, Hungary (now Târgu Secuiesc, Romania) in 1829. From 1817 until his death, Johann Purcell commanded in Hungary the 2nd Szeckler Border Infantry Regiment No. 15 in the army of the Austrian emperor. In 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars, he commanded, as a Major of Infantry, the Imperial and Royal Battalion Purcell, a Hungarian battalion. He was the son of Major General Baron Johann Baptist Purcell von Rorestown (1721-1779), a cavalry officer in the army of the Holy Roman Emperor. Born in Kilkenny, Ireland, as John Baptist Purcell, the latter became an officer in the Emperor’s service at age 21. He was a descendant of the Purcells of Rorestown, Co. Tipperary, a junior line of the Purcells of Loughmoe. Based upon his descent from the Barons of Loughmoe, and after being awarded the Order of Maria Theresa for gallantry in battle as a Captain of Cavalry, Johann Baptist Purcell secured recognition from the Emperor of baronial rank for him and his descendants, as Barons Purcell von Rorestown. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1583074397974-E0WWFURVJGQBM2QCK8WD/sc0003ca17.jpg Photographs Holy Cross Abbey in Co. Tipperary. James Purcell, Baron of Loughmoe (alive in 1465) is buried there. At the Reformation, Henry VIII dissolved this ancient Roman Catholic (Cistercian) abbey. The last abbot prior to the Reformation was Abbot Philip Purcell (d. 1563), a younger brother of a later James Purcell, Baron of Loughmoe. Until the Reformation, Philip is said to have sat in the Irish House of Lords as a lord spiritual. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/95744185-1fcb-41c2-bd95-d5a91493e717/IMG_2097.jpeg Photographs - Make it stand out The photograph above is of Sir John Samuel Purcell, KCB, JP (1839-1924). He was born in Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary, the son of Dr. John F. Purcell, M.D., a Commissioner of Irish Poor Laws. Sir John began his long career in the British Civil Service in 1856 at age 17. He rose to the position of Comptroller of Stamps and Stores and Registrar of Joint Stock Companies for the Inland Revenue Department. In 1887, he played a prominent role in selecting postage stamps to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria. In 1900, at his retirement after more than 40 years in the Civil Service, Queen Victoria, months before the end of her long reign, created him a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath. He formerly held the rank of Major, London Irish Rifle Volunteers. In retirement, he was chairman of the National Bank (formerly National Bank of Ireland) and also of St. John’s Hospital, Lewisham. In his later years, he lived at Glebe Lodge, Blackheath, London SE 3. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1583067234149-36J2XKOSXLSGR6L89DHQ/fx0z4olcz315fimxk934gr109zd7scz.jpeg Photographs Loughmoe Castle (Loughmore, near Templemore, Co. Tipperary) in the late 19th or early 20th century. The heads of the Purcell family lived on their Loughmoe lands from circa 1220 to 1722. (This view depicts the rear of the castle.) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/16af2078-9387-4dd0-962b-95de5130082e/IMG_2721.jpeg Photographs - Make it stand out The grave monument of James Purcell, Baron of Loughmoe, and his wife, Ellen or Helen Butler, at Holy Cross Abbey in Co. Tipperary. This is the oldest surviving grave monument in the abbey. Circa 1465, state documents accuse James Purcell of the illegal seizure of the land of a rival, "with force and arms, in manner of war, with banner displayed, contrary to law and against the peace of our sovereign lord the King." Waging a private war represented a serious defiance of royal authority. James was a soldier and a relentless cattle-raider. In the 1460s, he fought in defense of the Butler lordship against the Earl of Desmond. He was completely fluent in English and Irish, and he kept an Irish bard in his household, in defiance of the Statute of Kilkenny. There survives in the British Museum an Irish-language manuscript (“In obitum Jacobi Pursell, Baronis de Lughma” - that is, “On the death of James Purcell, Baron of Loughmoe”) containing the funeral elegy which his bard composed when James died. The oldest surviving portion of Loughmoe Castle, the south tower, was built between 1444 and 1494. It is thought that it was built when James was Baron of Loughmoe, and that the Purcell and Butler coats of arms in the great hall of the south tower pertained to James and his wife. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1583078149896-VULBQMP3IH3PX1TLWJJG/IMG_0531.jpg Photographs Sir John Purcell of Highfort, Co. Cork was knighted by the Prince Regent in 1811 for defending himself with a knife against a band of robbers. The portrait shows him holding the knife he used. He is the ancestor of the Purcells of Burton Park, Co. Cork, who still have the knife in their possession. His line descended from the Purcells of Croagh, Co. Limerick, an offshoot of the Purcells of Loughmoe. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1598207863570-SYYO5PGH2F0URZ1TDSTL/sc003e635f.jpg Photographs https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1588518587387-9A0JFG0RNE1WG66JSEVE/gghdbbpepnpcoobn.jpg Photographs Baron Emil Purcell von Rorestown (1876-1935) in the uniform of a Hungarian army officer. A great-grandson of Colonel Baron Johann Purcell von Rorestown, shown in a photograph above, Baron Emil Purcell emigrated from Budapest to New York City in 1902 and eventually settled in San Francisco, where he raised his three sons. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1599337862057-4EE4V8FD2TCMU6OF4UF1/62-1.jpg Photographs https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/2920c6fc-7e15-459f-a38f-8c4342616435/IMG-20211117-WA0005.jpg Photographs - Make it stand out This painting depicts Loughmoe Castle from the front, as it likely would have looked in its heyday, before the Cromwellian destruction of the 1650s. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/b8107e5b-6779-492f-bf3c-827133ecd54a/IMG_9209.jpeg Photographs - Make it stand out Judge Theobald Andrew Purcell (1818-1894) (B.A. 1839; M.A. 1866, Trinity College, Dublin), of 71 Harcourt Street, Dublin, was a circuit judge in Ireland in the 1870s and 1880s. Among his American grandchildren, from San Gabriel, California, were two U.S. Army officers who served during World War I: Colonel Launcelot Purcell and Lieutenant Colonel Burgo Purcell (the latter also served during World War II). His great-grandson, the late Major Hugh Devereux Purcell (1915-1993), also of California, a U.S. Army veteran of World War II, did extensive research on the Jacobite regiment of horse commanded from 1689 to 1691 by Colonel Nicholas Purcell, last Baron of Loughmoe. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1610297078658-X004LWUHUVSAG13IOGTW/Martin+Purcell+baptism+font.jpg Photographs The year 2021 marks the centenary of the death of Lieutenant Martin Purcell, Irish Volunteers, who grew up in Clonkelly, Dundrum, Co. Tipperary, about 18 miles from Loughmoe Castle. He was killed in Tipperary on 30 May 1921 at age 19 during the Irish War of Independence. The above photograph is of a Roman Catholic baptismal font in Dundrum which was given in memory of Lieutenant Purcell. In December 1918, weeks after the end of World War I, a general election was held throughout the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Of the 105 parliamentary seats in Ireland, 73 seats were won by candidates committed to an Irish republic independent of Great Britain. These 73 Irish Members of Parliament declined to take their seats at Westminster and instead formed an Irish parliament, Dáil Éireann, in Dublin. Impelled in part by Woodrow Wilson’s precept of a national right of self-determination, which was a key principle at the post-World War I peace conference at Versailles, these Irish legislators believed that, having stood on an independence platform and having won 70% of Ireland’s parliamentary seats in a free election, they had the right to declare national independence. The British Government viewed their actions as sedition and sent military and paramilitary forces to Ireland to suppress the rebellion. Dáil Éireann in turn recognized the Irish Volunteers (Óglaigh na hÉireann) as the national army of Ireland. A war ensued. The truce in July 1921, which ended the fighting, was followed by a 1922 treaty between Great Britain and Ireland which recognized an Irish Free State. More than twenty years after his death, Martin Purcell was posthumously decorated by the Irish Government for his service in the War of Independence. In recent decades, other Purcells have served in today’s Irish Defence Forces (Óglaigh na hÉireann), including Brigadier General (retired) Patrick Purcell of Naas, Co. Kildare (originally of Kilkenny), who was also a vice president of the Military History Society of Ireland. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1583075348875-P6AO2PZULOAD3M16TN70/14123148508_3325027df5_b.jpg Photographs A Purcell grave slab on the floor of St. Canice’s Cathedral, Kilkenny. This is the tomb of James Purcell of the Garrans, Co. Kilkenny (died 1552), a younger son of Philip Purcell of Foulksrath Castle (alive in 1491). James had at least 9 sons and many Kilkenny Purcells likely descend from him. The upper shield or coat of arms shows the boars’ heads of the Purcells. The lower shield is the coat of arms of his wife, Johanna Shortall. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1583077616046-0ALCI80HVCBWF044FA8O/Purcell.jpg Photographs The best known Purcell in 19th century North America was John Baptist Purcell (1800-1883), first Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cincinnati, Ohio. He was born in Mallow, Co. Cork. Pope Pius IX created him a Count in 1851. His biography in the Dictionary of American Biography states: “Though of conspicuous family, his parents were in poor circumstances.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1598199393362-XDFJMC5QN3D16BRY7O8Z/Dad.jpg Photographs https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/a2897ae7-e7ee-484f-ab7a-fb512b4344bf/IMG-20211117-WA0004.jpg Photographs - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/323b29bf-6422-481c-b4d1-9bc056f1ef96/thumbnail+%286%29.jpeg Photographs An 1812 drawing of Captain Tobias Purcell (1738-1825), 1st Fencible Light Dragoons, of Timogue Castle, Queen’s County (Co. Laois), Ireland, some 25 miles or so from Kilkenny. His sons included James Purcell, a British army officer on the staff of General Evans in Spain in the 1830s during the First Carlist War, and Rear Admiral Edward Purcell, Royal Navy (1792-1869). His grandsons included two British army officers, Colonel Matthew Henry Purcell, Royal Engineers, and Colonel Edward Tobias Willoughby Purcell, Royal Artillery. https://www.purcellfamily.org/butler-connections daily 0.75 2024-07-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1583967569323-8SGF7NXE1VF18NZWQT13/Steven_van_der_Meulen_Thomas_Butler_Earl_of_Ormonde_NGI.jpg Butler Connections Portrait of Thomas Butler, 10th Earl of Ormond, K.G. (1541-1613). Thomas Purcell, Baron of Loughmoe (d.1599) was loyal to the 10th Earl, but their relationship was complicated and was at times marked by hostility on the part of the Earl. In the 1580s, a Butler army commanded by two brothers of the 10th Earl as well as by Thomas Purcell, Baron of Loughmoe and by Lord Dunboyne (a peer of the Butler family) fought the forces of the Earl of Desmond at Goart-na-Pisi. In a 1606 letter, Thomas Purcell’s son, Richard Purcell, Baron of Loughmoe lamented that the 10th Earl had persecuted his father and mother ‘from time to time by long imprisonment and such other extremities, and to take a principal part of their lands to his own hands.’ Ellen Purcell, daughter of Thomas Purcell, Baron of Loughmoe, married Piers Butler of Nodstown, Co. Tipperary (died 1627), only son of Walter Butler, younger brother of Thomas Butler, 10th Earl of Ormond. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1583069963352-XFEB9LI6TAZPI0DZ672Z/sc001b0bf4.jpg Butler Connections Kilkenny Castle, principal seat of the Butlers of Ormond from 1391, when James Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormond acquired it, until 1967, when Arthur Butler, 6th Marquess of Ormonde and 24th Earl of Ormond, presented it to the people of Kilkenny. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1583068317865-9LOVSEQINA0QIIQM37BI/sc001b6a54.jpg Butler Connections James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde and 12th Earl of Ormond, K.G. (1610-1688), viceroy of Ireland and head of the Butler family, shown in his Garter robes. At the Restoration of King Charles II in 1660, he became the guardian of his young nephew, Nicholas Purcell, last Baron of Loughmoe (d. 1722). Nicholas Purcell’s mother, Elisabeth Butler (widow of James Purcell, Baron of Loughmoe), was a sister of the Duke. There are unfortunately no surviving portraits of Colonel Nicholas Purcell. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/3f9010ed-468a-48da-b0fd-7427a8a60545/IMG_2656.jpeg Butler Connections - Make it stand out The Butler arms on the tomb of James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond (poisoned in 1546) in St. Canice’s Cathedral, Kilkenny https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/74832098-a0d4-4ec7-8f0a-ae608c306379/Screenshot+2024-06-29+at+1.35.35%E2%80%AFPM.jpeg Butler Connections - Make it stand out A higher resolution image of the Butler coat of arms (‘Or a chief indented azure’) carved on the far right of the mantelpiece in the great hall of the south tower of Loughmoe Castle. The carvings are thought to date from the 15th century. (See description accompanying the photograph immediately above.) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1584106860291-68DMYY05DT510OPLA6SW/sc001ab9f7.jpg Butler Connections A medieval carving of a Butler knight at Jerpoint Abbey in Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny. The knight’s shield bears the simple coat of arms of the Butlers (‘Or a chief indented azure’ in heraldic terms, meaning a gold shield with a blue indented stripe at the top). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1585955714266-ZNF95MDK10Z63U7OH8G5/sc00160b02+%282%29.jpg Butler Connections A photograph of the main fireplace in the great hall of the south tower of Loughmoe Castle. The shield at the far left end of the mantelpiece once displayed the Purcell coat of arms. The Purcell arms were still visible there in 1892 but were later defaced. The faintly visible shield at the far right side of the mantelpiece, as shown in this photograph, displays the same simple Butler coat of arms (‘Or a chief indented azure’) as shown on the knight’s shield in the previous photograph. These were probably the arms of James Purcell, Baron of Loughmoe (alive in 1465) and his wife, a Butler. The south tower was built in the 1444-1494 period, and James Purcell and his wife were likely the lord and lady of the castle when the south tower was finished. Standing in the fireplace in this 1977 photograph was the German archaeologist Prince Frederick-Ernest of Saxe-Altenburg, Duke of Saxony (1905-1985), a friend of George Butler, 5th Marquess of Ormonde and 23rd Earl of Ormond (1890-1949). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1589310338395-VGL3UR9BE10TJJX6APIB/sc001b96dd.jpg Butler Connections This portrait by Sir Peter Lely shows Thomas Butler, Earl of Ossory, K.G., son and heir of the 1st Duke of Ormonde. Ossory was a first cousin of Nicholas Purcell, last Baron of Loughmoe. Ossory did not succeed to the dukedom because he died at age 46 in 1680, during the lifetime of his father. The 1st Duke had the distinction of sitting in the Irish House of Lords with all three of his surviving sons and sitting in the English House of Lords with two of his three sons. Ossory’s Dutch wife, Emilia van Nassau (granddaughter of Maurice, Prince of Orange), was a cousin of William, Prince of Orange, the future King William III of England, Scotland and Ireland, whom Ossory came to know well. In 1677 and 1678, Ossory commanded the British troops in Prince William of Orange’s allied army in the Netherlands. In 1678, when Ossory was in the Netherlands, his father, the 1st Duke, wrote to him, ‘I believe I shall shortly send you over one Toby Purcell, but as a very valuable present, for he is as honest a creature as lives, very brave and well experienced. I wish him near you on all occasions…I am confident he would make an excellent captain, major or adjutant; he has something of all the languages there in use, and he is a Protestant by conviction and not for interest.’ Lieutenant-Colonel Toby Purcell later fought as a Williamite officer at the battles of the Boyne and Aughrim in 1690 and 1691, serving as second in command of the 23rd Regiment of Foot (later the Royal Welch Fusiliers). On 13 July 1691, the day after the battle of Aughrim, King William III promoted Toby Purcell to Colonel of Infantry and placed him in command of the 23rd Foot. An image of his commission, signed by William III, is in the Photographs section of this website. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1589311976973-ZZ7INOIBVKPIPCAKWHQR/sc001bab57+%281%29.jpg Butler Connections James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde, K.G., the son of the above Earl of Ossory, had a long and turbulent life. He succeeded his grandfather as 2nd Duke of Ormonde and 13th Earl of Ormond in 1688, at age 23. Months after Ormonde succeeded to his titles, the Catholic King James II was toppled. Parliament called James II’s Protestant daughter Mary and son-in-law William of Orange to the throne as Mary II and William III, joint sovereigns. Ormonde, a Protestant like his father and grandfather but unlike most of the other Butlers, eventually supported William and Mary, to whom he was connected. William III was a cousin of Ormonde’s Dutch mother, Emilia van Nassau. Queen Mary II (as well as her younger sister, the future Queen Anne) were first cousins of Ormonde’s beloved late wife, Lady Anne Hyde. Although he was the head of the House of Butler, Ormonde’s Williamite sympathies placed him in a minority among the peers of his house. His Catholic kinsmen, the other Butler peers of Ireland, were all Jacobites: the Viscount Mountgarret, the Viscount Galmoy, the Viscount Ikerrin, the Baron Dunboyne, and the Baron Cahir. Ormonde, as colonel in command of the Queen’s Troop of Horse Guards, fought at the battle of the Boyne in 1690 against Jacobite regiments commanded by various cousins of his, including Colonel the Viscount Galmoy (Piers Butler, 3rd Viscount Galmoy), Colonel Thomas Butler of Garryricken (father of the future 15th Earl of Ormond) and Colonel Nicholas Purcell, Baron of Loughmoe. His cousin Captain the Lord Dunboyne (James Butler, who succeeded in 1690 as the 5th and 15th Baron Dunboyne) was an officer in Colonel Nicholas Purcell’s cavalry regiment. After the Jacobite defeat of 1691, Ormonde discreetly assisted his outlawed Jacobite kinsmen. Under Queen Anne, he was successively viceroy of Ireland and Captain-General of Her Majesty’s Land Forces in England, Scotland and Ireland. After the death of Queen Anne in 1714 and the accession to the throne of the House of Hanover, however, he was accused of Jacobite sympathies and fled in 1715 to France, where he revealed himself to be a Jacobite. He became a trusted advisor to James II’s exiled son, James Francis Edward Stuart, whom the Hanoverians called the Old Pretender and whom the Jacobites, the King of France and the Pope called King James III of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1745, James Francis Edward’s son Prince Charles Edward Stuart (‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’), traveling in disguise while en route to Paris to begin his expedition to Scotland, stayed secretly with Ormonde at the latter’s residence in Avignon. Abbé James Butler of Nantes, France, the Irish Catholic priest and Ormonde kinsman who was chaplain to Bonnie Prince Charlie on the 1745 sea voyage to Scotland, penned a letter to the Duke of Ormonde describing the July 1745 landing in Scotland. Ormonde died months later, in November 1745. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1583967884514-I60L1WID2NUTMVPN217S/5ca004e37dfb10b66c06aa2b8f7b47d0--cathedrals-ireland.jpg Butler Connections https://www.purcellfamily.org/heraldry daily 0.75 2024-06-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/a7b64725-1aa4-4db3-a3ce-1962dc3dffb2/IMG_1818.jpeg Heraldry - Make it stand out The boar has been a theme in Purcell heraldry since at least 1362, if not before. Its use plays on the Purcell surname, which was ‘Porcellus’ in some Latin manuscripts, such as a Latin charter in Normandy, dated circa 1052 A.D., which refers to ‘Hugo Porcellus’ (Hugh Purcell), lord of the vill of Montmarquet, a location near the French town of Aumale in Normandy. In Latin, ‘porcellus’ means little pig or piglet. A piglet as a symbol, however, conveys no martial threat. In contrast, another member of the pig family, the wild boar, was often used in heraldry to convey the fierce and tenacious aggression of a warrior. (Note: The image above, displayed on a glass panel, has been copyrighted by Dennis Roberts and is used with permission.) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1583084025656-DVH9IV37QUUDQKPII751/sc003be38f.jpg Heraldry Impaled arms of James Purcell, Baron of Loughmoe (d. 1652), on left, and of his wife Elisabeth Butler (sister of James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde and 12th Earl of Ormond), on right. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1583086934134-IP8YZCRSAF0FQU9MBNLX/IMG_0299.JPG Heraldry There were several Purcell coats of arms used apparently interchangeably in Ireland by descendants of the Purcells of Loughmoe. The coat of arms above, used by Nicholas Purcell, Sheriff of Dublin (died 1616 or maybe it says 1626), is similar in some ways to the 1362 seal of Geoffrey Purcell, above. This is from the archives of the Chief Herald of Ireland. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1583081246331-YGB2VRPKF2Q26R0YBPR1/image-asset.jpeg Heraldry https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1583085426240-M3TNYZ6I4BMHCX49SEQG/20305639.jpg Heraldry The castle at the Little Island, Co. Waterford was the seat of the Purcell-FitzGerald family (descendants of Lieutenant-Colonel John Purcell and his wife Mary FitzGerald) from circa 1818 to 1966. It is now the Waterford Castle Hotel. The Purcell-FitzGeralds were descendants of the Purcells of Ballyfoyle, Co. Kilkenny, an offshoot of the Purcells of Loughmoe. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/29a78c19-68f8-42c2-bb9d-3186ca72b0f8/IMG_2544.jpeg Heraldry - Make it stand out The late Fra’ Matthew Festing was the Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta from 2008 until 2017. The Order of Malta is the world’s oldest surviving order of chivalry, a lay order of the Catholic Church, and a major humanitarian organisation dedicated to the relief of the sick and the poor. The Grand Master of the Order of Malta is considered a head of state by many countries, because, although it no longer has any territory, the Order is deemed to be a sovereign entity in international law and exchanges ambassadors with more than 110 countries. In its humanitarian efforts, the Order employs some 50,000 doctors, nurses and paramedics, assisted by 95,000 volunteers in more than 120 countries. After Matthew Festing was elected Grand Master, a painting was made of his 16 quarterings (the coats of arms of his great-great-grandparents). The painting shows, among other arms, the Purcell coat of arms, through Matthew Festing’s great-grandmother, Victoria Purcell. He was proud of his descent from the Purcells of Ballyfoyle. An Englishman, Matthew Festing was graduated from the University of Cambridge and rose to the rank of Colonel (Reserve) in the British Army. He was a direct descendant of the English Catholic martyr, Blessed Sir Adrian Fortescue. Matthew Festing’s father, Field Marshal Sir Francis Festing, was Chief of the Imperial General Staff in the United Kingdom. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1583086448842-6JHG9T7KBLY67J9L9QV2/sc0018c9f1.jpg Heraldry This drawing of the wax heraldic seal used by Geoffrey Purcell in 1362 is the earliest surviving Purcell coat of arms in Ireland using a boar theme. It is preserved in one of the Ormond Deeds, in the National Library, Dublin. It appears that the boar is facing in the wrong direction, due to an engraving error. In the 1350s, when the bubonic plague was ravaging Tipperary and causing the deaths of many, including Purcells, Geoffrey Purcell was engaged in a succession struggle with his close relation, Hugh Purcell, over who should be the head of the family. Geoffrey prevailed and wrested Loughmoe from Hugh. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1617566565444-B360FD583J2D5XE2FP8P/Nodstown.jpg Heraldry Over the centuries, heralds from the Office of Ulster King of Arms, Ireland’s chief heraldic authority, kept records called Funeral Entries. These recorded heraldic and genealogical details of deceased members of the nobility and gentry. They often also included details of funerals, including the names of those in attendance. The above drawing, showing the arms of Butler impaling Purcell, depicts the arms described in the Funeral Entry for Piers Butler, gentleman, of Nodstown, Co. Tipperary. Piers lived from 1558 to 1627, dying on 21 February 1627, and was buried at Holy Cross Abbey, not far from Loughmoe. Piers was the only son of Walter Butler, 4th son of James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond and younger brother of Thomas Butler, 10th Earl of Ormond. Piers Butler of Nodstown was married to Ellen Purcell, daughter of Thomas Purcell, Baron of Loughmoe and sister of two Barons of Loughmoe, Ralph Purcell and Richard Purcell. According to the drawing and to the Funeral Entry, Piers bore the traditional Butler coat of arms (Or, a chief indented azure – that is, a blue dented stripe at the top of a gold or yellow shield), with a black martlet (a bird, like a swallow) for differencing. (In heraldry, a martlet was often used to designate a fourth son. Thus, these were the arms originally borne by Piers’s father, Walter Butler, 4th son of the 9th Earl of Ormond.) The arms of Piers’s wife Ellen Purcell were the traditional arms of the Barons of Loughmoe (Or, a saltire between four boars’ heads couped sable). The letters on the black-and-white sketch identify the colours applicable: ‘B’ for blue or azure, ‘O’ for ‘or’ (gold or yellow), and ‘S’ for sable (black). Sources: ‘Coats of Arms From the Funeral Entries’ [taken from the Journal of the Association for the Preservations of the Memorials of the Dead in Ireland, vol. 7 (1907-1909) and vol. 8 (1910-1912) (coat of arms no. 616)] [a volume published by the Irish Memorials Association (undated) and in the National Library, Dublin, call number A13471); Sir Bernard Burke, Ulster King of Arms, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales (London, 1884), pp. 154, 829; Edmund Curtis, editor, Calendar of Ormond Deeds (Irish Manuscripts Commission, 1970), vol. VI, pp. 51-52; and Lodge’s Peerage of Ireland (1789), vol. 4, p. 28. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1583086011209-EG7RHVJHA2EVOFRDB2NM/90.jpeg Heraldry The great hall of the castle at the Little Island, Co. Waterford (now the Waterford Castle Hotel), with the arms of Purcell quartering FitzGerald displayed above the main fireplace. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1583084881190-7JA39L53LU6XK0JP3RBH/IMG_0537.jpg Heraldry The castellated gate entrance to Burton Park, displaying a carving of the Purcell arms https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1583084552837-SXYB0JRFVTW1BI1E6E9Z/IMG_0538.jpg Heraldry Burton Park near Churchtown, Co. Cork has been the seat of the Purcells of Burton Park and now of the Ryan-Purcells of Burton Park for more than 200 years. This is the only branch of the family still in possession of its historical residence. They descend from the Purcells of Croagh, Co. Limerick, an offshoot of the Purcells of Loughmoe. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1583086219954-GQNJCNULP0C0DALQBZV4/IMG_0358.jpg Heraldry A closeup of the arms of Purcell quartering FitzGerald. Our thanks to the Waterford Castle Hotel and Golf Resort, a 4-star resort, for the use of this photograph. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1589655667099-H40VZ8ZWQ1BFNZUSQ1D2/IMG_0213.jpg Heraldry A drawing of the arms of the Purcell-FitzGerald family showing Purcell quartering FitzGerald. These are the same arms displayed in the previous photograph of the main fireplace in the great hall of the castle at the Little Island, Co. Waterford, now the Waterford Castle Hotel and Golf Resort. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1583084260101-TFFX59TL2FGAC9S8W116/IMG_0292.jpg Heraldry A 1678 drawing of the arms of Captain Edmund Purcell (of the Purcells of Clonmacoge, Co. Tipperary) contained in a draft confirmation of arms by Richard St. George, Ulster King of Arms. The letters written on the shield in this black-and-white drawing identify the colours pertaining to the shield: ‘S’ (for sable, or black) indicates that the boars’ heads and saltire are black, and ‘Or’ indicates that the shield is yellow or gold. (From the archives of the Chief Herald of Ireland) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1598802517843-PHVNPN32KBTUINCXP5C1/IMG_1326.jpg Heraldry https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1598800855968-AYJJFNVDC0BYXNCQ1A0B/01.jpg Heraldry https://www.purcellfamily.org/home daily 1.0 2026-01-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/bc453f4d-9f43-4766-a021-1598f1b85266/IMG_2711.jpeg Home - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/e4159fcc-ca98-4920-b130-17d142858c31/IMG_2780.jpeg Home - Make it stand out Sunday, June 23, 2024. In front of Loughmoe Castle. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/b02a12b7-71a1-4e6f-bf4b-3707579602a5/IMG_6204+%281%29.jpeg Home - Make it stand out Sunday, June 23, 2024. Luncheon for 300 at Loughmore. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/96d671a4-f952-4a5f-a9b1-03d6819e84f8/IMG_6175+%281%29.jpeg Home - Make it stand out Sunday, June 23, 2024, the final day of the Purcell gathering, was spent in the village of Loughmore, Co. Tipperary, where the heads of the Purcell family had their seat from the early 1200s until 1722. The photo above shows us walking to Loughmoe Castle. The ranks of the 225 members of The Purcell Society who registered for the multi-day gathering were swelled by dozens of other Purcells who came for the final day. Catherine Purcell and the residents of Loughmore gave a very warm welcome to the returning Purcells. The Templemore Pipe Band escorted us to Loughmoe Castle, where there were speeches and a skit by the local players. After this, Catherine Purcell and her committee had organized a sit-down luncheon for 300, across the road from the castle. During lunch, children from the Loughmore school put on an entertaining and very humorous musical skit dramatizing the ancient legend of how the first Purcell obtained Loughmoe Castle. Extraordinary musical entertainment was provided by the renowned musician and fiddler Máiréad Nesbitt, one of the founding members of Celtic Woman. After lunch, we had the afternoon free to listen to Máiréad’s lovely music, walk around the village, visit the ancient cemetery, socialize outside under the blue summer sky, or visit the pub. The amazingly well organized events at Loughmore and the superb summer weather were a very fitting end to our Purcell reunion. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/5e2ff46a-4f3c-4cd0-9bf8-056d6b68bac3/IMG_6113.jpeg Home - Make it stand out June 21, 2024. Dinner at the River Court Hotel https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/f0039de1-a01c-45ac-b583-63ccccacfd5a/IMG_6117.jpeg Home - Make it stand out June 21, 2024. Dinner at the River Court Hotel https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/5f39763e-ecb6-4778-b276-67f96b251ca5/IMG_6096.jpeg Home - Make it stand out Friday, June 21, 2024. The River Court Hotel in Kilkenny, where 225 Purcells and Purcell descendants will assemble for dinner. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1583065932535-0CUJ1RPOJME8ROFIJ3UH/Horan_2+%285%29.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/33d874ca-3b1d-49e0-ab62-2ed2fbd84e6e/IMG_6208+%281%29.jpeg Home - Make it stand out Sunday, June 23, 2024. Enjoying glorious Tipperary weather in Loughmore https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/a61d4c42-2964-46d8-ab17-a790db6de644/IMG_6079+%282%29.jpeg Home - Make it stand out At Foulksrath Castle. June 20, 2024. From left to right: Geoffrey Purcell (Scotland), Marc Purcell (USA), Gerry Purcell (New Zealand), Bruce DeAragon (USA), Anita Purcell DeAragon (USA), Lucie Purcell (England), Cameron DeAragon (USA), Paul Hopkins (châtelain of Foulksrath Castle), Catherine Purcell (Ireland), Walter Ryan-Purcell (Ireland), Shane Purcell (Scotland), Sean Lally (Ireland), Brien Purcell Horan (USA), Jean Whyte (Ireland), and Hugh Purcell (England). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/74ec604c-bd7d-410b-9688-ec3bac0e1147/IMG_6099.jpeg Home - Make it stand out June 21, 2024. Dinner at the River Court Hotel https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/f7d0c5f1-75d0-4146-ac0e-482dc6086a44/thumbnail+%284%29.jpeg Home - Make it stand out Saturday, June 22, 2024. Purcells standing in front of Burton Park. Above the top central window is a stone carving of the Purcell coat of arms. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/993ea348-d7e3-4a4e-8305-8a2398ab57cd/IMG_2757+%281%29.jpeg Home - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/4af74442-4765-4ca2-9a67-8a5a3d330035/IMG_2732+%281%29.jpeg Home - Make it stand out Saturday, June 22, 2024. Walter Ryan-Purcell, president of The Purcell Society, welcomes Purcells to Burton Park, which he owns. Burton Park, near Churchtown, Co. Cork, has been the seat of the Purcells of Burton Park and later the Ryan-Purcells of Burton Park for more than two centuries. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/1ece5061-571d-46dd-a11c-59bfb6d49163/IMG_6182.jpeg Home - Make it stand out Sunday, June 23, 2024. The Templemore Pipe Band leading us Loughmoe Castle. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/e8d948d2-de53-4d17-9e95-262439dcb468/IMG_6068.jpeg Home - Make it stand out On Thursday, June 20, 2024 (the first day of summer), Paul Hopkins, owner of Foulksrath Castle near Kilkenny, invited the officers of The Purcell Society for dinner. Foulksrath Castle was until the middle of the 17th century the seat of a branch of the Purcell family. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/97152569-6098-44f2-b359-e6c6dc0a9263/IMG_6127.jpeg Home - Make it stand out Saturday, June 22, 2024. Members of The Purcell Society at Holy Cross Abbey, near Thurles, Co. Tipperary, Tom Gallagher of the Abbey staff gave a fascinating PowerPoint presentation on the Purcell family’s ties to the Abbey. The oldest tomb in the abbey is that of James Purcell, Baron of Loughmoe, who in the 1460s fought in defense of the Butler lordship against the Earl of Desmond. The last abbot of the Abbey prior to Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries was Philip Purcell (d. 1563), younger brother of a later Baron of Loughmoe. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e5ad6d49070ef2e922658b1/8180761f-b95f-4e20-9862-c90b70379d28/IMG_1750.jpeg Home - Make it stand out Saturday, June 22, 2024. Purcells at Burton Park, with Walter in the foreground. After their tour of the house, Purcells enjoyed a picnic lunch on the grounds, enlivened by traditional Irish musicians and lovely summer weather. https://www.purcellfamily.org/purcell-history daily 0.75 2024-03-22 https://www.purcellfamily.org/shop daily 0.75 2025-05-09 https://www.purcellfamily.org/shop/p/conference-ticket-party-jz6sp monthly 0.5 2019-06-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d0c36c494ff5f00012dc9e9/1561491032689-BM01L5RPSSE49WEMRN5O/2005.37.4_PS2.jpg Shop - Conference Ticket + Party https://www.purcellfamily.org/shop/p/conference-ticket-4nlnr monthly 0.5 2019-06-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d0c36c494ff5f00012dc9e9/1561491032689-BM01L5RPSSE49WEMRN5O/2005.37.4_PS2.jpg Shop - Conference Ticket