Butler played hurling at juvenile and underage levels with the O'Loughlin Gaels club, while simultaneously lining out as a schoolboy with CBS Kilkenny. After securing minor and under-21 titles, he eventually progressed on the club's senior team and lined out in the 2021 Kilkenny SHC final defeat by Ballyhale Shamrocks. Butler first appeared on the inter-county scene as a member of the Kilkenny minor hurling team that won the Leinster MHC title in 2017, before subsequently winning a Leinster U20 title in 2019.He made his Kilkenny senior hurling team debut during the 2022 National Hurling League