Dolly Butler was an Irish socialite who was married to the Anglo-Irish banker Edward Butler and was the mother of banker Harry Butler and Irish republican activist Elizabeth Butler.
Biography[]
Dolly Mulcahy was born in Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland, the sister of Catholic priest Richard Mulcahy. She later married the Anglo-Irish Protestant banker Edward Butler and moved into a mansion in Fitzwilliam Square, and she had two children, Harry Butler and Elizabeth Butler. The two children were spoiled, with Harry becoming a wastrel and Elizabeth becoming a theatre actress and Irish republican activist. During the 1916 Easter Rising, Dolly asserted herself in front of her husband, refusing to abandon either of her deeply-flawed children and instead attempting to secure Elizabeth's release following her imprisonment on 29 April. In May, she visited her daughter in prison, but she failed to convince her to recant her old views in exchange for her release; instead, she commended her daughter for fighting for her opinions. Following the death of her husband that same month, she persuaded her son Harry to change and grow up, as he had become the head of the household and had to take on new responsibilities.