Walter Butler of Roscrea

Walter Butler of Ballinakill Castle, Roscrea (b. about 1600 – died 25 December 1634) was a military officer, who served as a Colonel (Oberst) in the Imperial Army under Albrecht von Wallenstein and was involved in Wallenstein's murder in 1634.

Walter Butler was a descendant of the Butler family - the Earls of Ormond. He was the son of Peter Butler of Roscrea. The "Roscrea" cadet branch of the family is in turn descended from the "Polestown" cadet branch.

Ballinakill Castle lies between Roscrea and Dunkerrin. The ruins can now be seen on the main Dublin-Limerick road (N7) about six kilometers on the Nenagh side of Roscrea. It is more of a fortified house than a true castle, similar to Cloncourse Castle. The exact date of the fortification is uncertain but is no earlier than 1580 when Pierce Butler of Paulstown bought land there. The three story fortified house has long been gutted and only the shell remains of this large building. What is most impressive about the site however, is not the house but the impressive bawn around it. A bawn is very similar to the curtain walls of a castle. The bawn at Ballinakill is still one of the finest in the country. The castle was acquired by Sir Richard Stephens, who sold it in 1680 to a former Cromwellian soldier, Col. Charles Minchin. His descendants, two of whom were High Sheriffs of Tipperary, added a house at the southern end. Humphrey Minchin moved to England in 1760.

When his family estates in Roscrea, County Tipperary were confiscated in 1616, Walter became a soldier of fortune. He entered the armed forces of the Habsburg emperor Ferdinand II and served with distinction as a Colonel in the Thirty Years’ War. In 1631 he and his Irish officers fought under General Tilly against MacKay's Swedish regiment laying siege to Frankfurt-an-der-Oder. Injured and captured by the Swedish, he was accused of being responsible for the loss of the Oder fortress. Butler made King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden certify his bravery and after his release appeared at the Imperial headquarters before Field Marshal Rudolf von Tiefenbach, where his opponents had to withdraw their accusations.

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