Thomas Le Boteller

Thomas Le Boteller, or Thomas Butler, nicknamed Thomas Bacach or Thomas the Lame, was the illegitimate son of the 3rd Earl of Ormond, and a leading political figure in early fifteenth century Ireland. He held the offices of Lord Chancellor of Ireland, Lord Deputy of Ireland and Prior of Kilmainham. In his own lifetime he was a highly unpopular statesman, who was accused of treason. He is now chiefly remembered as a professional soldier, who was present at the Siege of Rouen in 1418–19. He had previously fought in the sanguinary conflict known as the Battle of Bloody Bank near Dublin in 1402.