Joan Butler Countess of Carrick

Joan Butler (née FitzGerald), Countess of Carrick, was born in 1281 in Fermoy, County Cork, Ireland. She was the daughter of John FitzThomas FitzGerald, 1st Earl of Kildare, and Blanche de La Roche. Joan had two brothers, Gerald and Thomas, who later became the 2nd Earl of Kildare, and one sister, Elizabeth. In 1302, she married Edmund Butler, Earl of Carrick, with whom she had two sons: James, who became the 1st Earl of Ormond, and John Butler of Clonamicklon.

In 1315, her husband was appointed Justiciar of Ireland. Joan's father died in 1316 after being created Earl of Kildare by King Edward II. Joan herself died on May 2, 1320, in Laraghbryan, County Kildare. She was an ancestress of notable figures such as Anne Boleyn and Diana, Princess of Wales.