Edmund Butler, 11th Viscount Mountgarret and former Member of Parliament for County Kilkenny, fights a duel with Counsellor Bushe, a prominent barrister of the time. During the encounter, Bushe is seriously wounded in the stomach, though he survives the injury.
The duel reflects the ongoing culture of honour-based violence among the Anglo-Irish elite in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, where personal and political disputes were often settled with pistols at dawn. Though illegal, duelling remained common among the gentry, and legal consequences were rare—particularly for men of rank.
The incident added to Mountgarret’s reputation as a fiery and contentious figure in both political and social circles.