But William Marnane, first son of Edmond and Johanna Marnane of Tipperary, chose a different path -- a path that three of his younger brothers would follow in coming years.
William, born on February 1, 1860 when Edmond Marnane was 43 years old and Johanna was 19, joined the Royal Irish Constabulary (the national police) at the age of 18.
A tall, lean man (he was slightly over 6'1"), William served in west County Cork and in Cork City, just a few miles south and west of Tipperary and was promoted several times, to acting Sergeant in July, 1893, and to permanent Sergeant in October, 1895. His temper may have gotten the best of him, however, as his grandson Eddie reports he was reduced to acting Sergeant in August, 1903, apparently for kicking a prisoner.
In 1886, at the age of 26 and while in west Cork, William married Dora Downing of Goleen.
Although William and Dora had eight children, all of whom were born in Cork City, their life together was short as William died the day following appendicitis surgery on June 9, 1904. He was 44 years old. Dora remained in Cork City and died on April 25, 1928. Both are buried in St. Finbarr's Cemetery in Cork.
William and Dora's first child was Mary Ellen, or May as she was known as an adult. Although Mary Ellen was not the first grandchild of Edmond and Johanna (John's son Edward was born 10 months earlier), there are indications that she was a favorite of her grandfather.
In a letter to his daughter, Bridget, in August, 1892, Grandfather Edmond wrote , "Will left us Mary -- a first rate girl. She is the greatest comfort to us and is going to school with all the boys and John's children."
Later in the letter, Edmond said, "Mick is jealous of Mary; he says she is the pet."
At the time, Mick (Michael) would have been 11 years old, while Mary was only four.
Mary married Lt. Col. C. L. Kempton of the Royal Engineers but, like her father, had a short life. She died of the "Black Flu" in November, 1918, at the age of 30. She is buried at Ramsgate in Kent.
Mary and C.L. Kempton had one son, John, born on February 26, 1915. John died in Wales in March, 1997.
William and Dora's second child was Edward James, born only 17 months after his sister, on July 30, 1889. Edward married Maud Corrigan at St. Mary's Cathedral in Cork on June 17, 1924. He and Maud had one daughter, Mary, born on April 18, 1925.
Like his father and sister before him, Edward died young, succumbing to pleurisy in October, 1927, at the age of 38.
Edward and Maud's daughter Mary was married to George Wells in London. He died recently. Their son, Ian, lives in Nottingham, England.
Maurice, third child of William and Dora, was the first of several family members to serve and die in military service. Born on April 3, 1891, Maurice became a carpenter but then joined the Royal Engineers in World War I and died of wounds suffered in Mesopotamia (better known today as Iraq) on March 9, 1917, at the age of 26.
William Michael Marnane was the first grandchild to follow Edmond's model and have a long life. Born on September 29, 1892, William was 80 when he died of heart failure on May 1, 1973.
William worked with the grocery firm of Simcox and Son in Cork, serving as a shop assistant and later as store manager.
He married Eily Collins of Passage West, in County Cork, in September, 1925. They had four children. Both William and Eily, who died on June 8, 1985 at 91 years, are buried in St. Finbarr's Cemetery in Cork.
William and Eily's first child, Dorothea, nicknamed Doll, lived for only six months. She was born on June 10, 1927, and died on December 23, two days before Christmas the same year.
Billy and Eddie Marnane were the second and fourth children of William and Eily and they have continued the Marnane line through eight children (five for Billy, three for Eddie) and nine grand-children thus far (eight on Billy's side and one on Eddie's side).
Billy and the former Veronica (Vera) Barry are enjoying Billy's recent retirement from his position as the Regional Manager for the Irish Post Office.
Eddie and the former Margaret (Peg) O'Callaghan also are enjoying retirement, as Eddie recently retired as Secretary for the Cork County Council.
Billy and Vera's five children are Eileen (John) Linehan, Bill, Declan, Brenda (Ray) O'Callaghan and Norma.
Eddie and Peg's children are Liam, Eamonn and Mairead.
Another branch of the family that has settled in Cork is headed by Edmond (Ned) Peters, a son of Ellen Marnane Peters.
Ned and the former Mary (May) Kelly returned to Ireland in 1975 when Ned retired from British Airways. They settled in Cork where daughter, Maureen Peters (Kevin) O'Sullivan and their two children also live. Son Neil lives in California.
The current Cork-area telephone directory shows five Marnanes and thirty Murnanes. We can account for only the five Marnanes, so we have connections yet to complete.
E-Mail: emurnane@murnane.org