So like thousands of Irish families in America, in Australia -- even in Ireland -- you've bought an attractive, polished replica of the Murnane family crest or "coat of arms."
There are a few things you ought to know.
First, there is no such thing as a "Murnane family coat of arms."
"Arms" were (and are) granted to individuals (and their direct descendants), and not to a family or clan, according to experts in Heraldry. Patrick O'Shea, one such expert, writes, "Most of these examples of armorial bearings originated as English grants of arms in the late Medieval or early Renaissance periods. Today, the regulation of armorial bearings in Ireland is handled by the Chief Herald of Ireland or the U.K. College of Arms (in Northern Ireland), and both authorities continue to make new grants of arms to worthy individuals."
O'Shea also writes that "Irish heraldry does appear to have native roots at least five centuries older than the system introduced by the Anglo-Normans in 1169."
In order to display a "coat of arms" as your own, you must prove that you are a descendant of the individual to whom the arms were granted.
Of course, in view of the status of some Irish records, it would be as difficult or impossible to prove that you are NOT entitled to display arms as it would to prove that you ARE eligible.
With these appropriate disclaimers having been stated, the accompanying depiction of a Murnane coat of arms is offered with no guarantee that it is legitimate or that it has been earned by any living Murnane or Murnane ancestor.
However, it is being sold in Ireland, and there are indications that the producers of this family crest know something about the family and its name.
This crest was sold in County Kildare at an establishment called "Irish Culture and Craftwork, Ltd."
The description of the Murnane family is familiar to Murnane researchers:
It reads:
"This name in Irish is O'Murnain, a contracted form of O'Manannain 'descendant of Manannan,' a name borne in Celtic mythology by a sea-god. This Thomond name, now in Cork, is also anglicized Marrinane and Marnane. The medieval for Iwarrynane shows how it became Warren in some places."
The crest includes the motto, "Non mihi sed Deo et Regi," which is Latin for "Not for me but for God and the King."
Another Irish commercial organization, called "The Historical Research Center," produces certificates of family names and their background and their description of the Murnane name reads as follows:
"The Irish surname Murnane is patronymic in origin, being one of those surnames derived from the first name of a father. It comes from the Gaelic name Murnain and is frequently found with the prefix "O" meaning grandson or descendent of. It was suggested by Woulfe that this name was originally a form of O'Mananain, the Gaelic name for Manannan, an ancient sea god. Manannan also gave his name to the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.
Other variants of this name include Marrinan, Marnane and Murney. It is curious to note that another very common variant is Warren. This arose in the Middle Ages when Murnane was spelt Iwarrynane. This spelling is recorded in the Fiants of the Sixteenth Century under an entry concerning one Conogher MacShane Iwarrynane. The form Warren became a popular Anglicization during the Gaelic Depression of the following century when the Irish were forbidden to use the Gaelic tongue.
The surname Murnane is particularly associated with the Province of Munster in the Southwest of Ireland. "
Both descriptions of the name accurately locate it in the Province of Munster, which includes Cork, Tipperary, Limerick, Clare, Kerry and Waterford. Historical records and current telephone directories confirm that this is where most of the Murnanes in Ireland live.
And although the "Historical Research Center" does not show a crest or coat of arms, it does describe one and the description matches the crest pictured here.
In heraldic language, it describes "or and azure" checks, or gold and blue checks, between three talbots (defined by Webster as large blood-hound-like dogs). It also describes a red lion holding a "crozier or," which would be a gold crosier (a bishop's staff) and that's what the lion is holding.
Is it legitimate? Who knows. There are other "Murnane coats of arms" and there is no proof that any Murnane (or O'Murnane or Marnane or any of the other variations) actually was awarded a coat of arms.
But then, there is no proof that it didn't happen, either, and there is no proof that every Murnane alive today is not a descendant of that first brave warrior who charged into battle.
E-Mail: emurnane@murnane.org