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Isaac Butt, regarded as the founder of the Home Rule Movement
in Ireland, was born in Glenfin, on the 6th of September,
1813, the only son of a Protestant rector. He was educated
at the Royal School, Raphoe and at Trinity College, Dublin.
A brilliant scholar, he was one of the founders of the influential
Dublin University Magazine (1833) and editor (1834-38).
Professor of Political Economy (1836-41), he was called to
the bar 1838 and soon became a leader in his profession. A
member of both the Irish and the English bar, he was a noted
conservative lawyer and an opponent of Daniel O’Connell.
In these early years he wrote for the conservative press
on both sides of the Irish Sea, and established a weekly newspaper
in Dublin, the Protestant Guardian. After the Great
Famine of the 1840s, he became increasingly liberal. The idealism
of the Young Irelanders won him over to nationalism, and in
1848 he defended many Fenians, sacrificing lucrative briefs
to do so although his financial position was precarious, as
it remained throughout his life.
In 1852 Butt was elected to Westminster as Tory MP for both
Harwich and Youghal in County Cork, a seat he held until 1865.
After the 1867 Rising, Butt defended Fenian prisoners as a
result of which he became an advocate of Home Rule and legislative
independence for Ireland. In 1869 Butt founded the Amnesty
Association for the release of Fenian prisoners and in
1870 he founded the Home Rule Association. In 1871
Butt stood for election on a Home Rule ticket and was returned
as MP for Limerick. In 1875 he published Land Tenure in
Ireland. Issac Butt was MP for Limerick until his death
near Dundrum, Co. Dublin on 5th May, 1879.
Three years earlier, on the 26th December, 1876, he wrote
to a friend, Dr O'Leary MP;
'If I die in England, I think it better I should be
buried in Brompton Cemetary in the grave with my mother
and child.'
However, in the next paragraph, he states;
'If...the expence would not be an inconvenience, I would
wish to be buried in Stranorlar Graveyard, as close as may
be to the South-Eastern angle. The ground is - or was -
a good deal lower than the rest of the churchyard. A very
shallow grave would be enough, with a mound of earth or
a tomb raised over it. Put no inscription over the grave,
except the date of my birth and my death; and, wherever
I am buried, let the funeral be perfectly private, with
as few persons attending, and as little show and expense
as possible.'
Butt handed this letter to Dr O'Leary on the day it was written,
and on the envelope was written 'To be religiously observed'.
The following October (1877), Dr O'Leary met Butt at Bangor.
Butt was in poor spirits and was returning to Ireland from
Buxton in Derbyshire, a spa, whose mineral waters were taken
for rheumatic diseases and other complaints. He was depressed,
and believed he was going to die soon. He asked if his letter,
written the previous Christmas, was safe, and Dr O'Leary assured
him it was, but stated that a third person should be made
aware of his wishes. Butt sat down immediately and wrote a
copy of the letter from memory, which he sent to his daughter.
Both letters were produced the day after he died, and so
the funeral was to be private and in Stranorlar. The train
carrying his coffin, together with family members, left Amiens
Street Station (Dublin) on Saturday morning at 9:00am, arriving
at Strabane Station that afternoon. The coffin - of polished
oak, with heavy brass mountings - bore the simple inscription:
'Isaac Butt - Died 5th May 1879 - Aged 65 years'
The coffin of the man knowing no religious bigotry, was carried
from the church by a number of working men, who no doubt considered
it an honour, and borne to the South-East angle of the churchyard.
Nearly all present remained until the grave was filled in,
and the 'last green sod placed on the grave of him whose memory
a nation honours'.
 The
Isaac Butt Visitor's Centre (the old Brockagh N.S) in
his native Cloghan, dedicated to his memory.
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 He
is buried in the Protestant cemetery, Stranorlar.
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