Matthew Marnane, who had to share the spotlight with his twin sister at the time of his birth, assumed a unique role among the 12 children of Edmond and Johanna Marnane when he became the custodian of the family farm, and thus provided the continuity of family interest at Cappauniac.
Although he was the fifth son of Edmond and Johanna, Matthew inherited the family farm because his four older brothers all left County Tipperary -- one to County Cork and three to the United States .
Matthew and his twin, Ellen, were born in 1873 -- when their father was in his fifty-sixth year. When Edmond Marnane died in 1905, Matt would have been 32. By that time, only younger brother Michael was still at home. He didn't leave for America until 1910.
Matthew was married to Bridget Maxey of nearby Cahir in early 1907, and about a year later, they had the first of eight children, Johanna (Josephine) (1908). The other children were Alice (1909), Edmond (Neddie) (1911), Brigid (1912), Mary Patricia (1913), Ellen (Nellie) (1914), Margaret (Peg) (1915) and Catherine (1917), who died only a year later, in 1918.
Matt's only son, Neddie, inherited the family farm and lived in the small white cottage with his wife, Ciss, until his death in 1994. Ciss remains in the house, not far from a son and a daughter who have remained in the Cappauniac area.
Neddie's son, Patrick, has taken ownership of the farm and plans to pass it on to his own son, Patrick, in the future, thus keeping the small farm in Cappauniac in the Marnane family through at least six identifiable generations.
Neddie and Ciss' daughter, Marie Byron, lives a short distance from the family home and her three daughters all attended the school (newer building, however) that their parents, grandparents, greatgranparents and a few generations earlier had attended.
Just above the Marnane home (as you move up into the Galtee Mountains) lives Bridget Marnane with her sons, John and Billie. Bridget's late husband, Jack, and his father, John, fit into the Marnane family tree a few generations back.
Other Marnanes in the area include John and Mary Marnane, who operate the popular Bansha House guesthouse in Bansha, about four miles west of Cappauniac. John is a prominent farmer and horseman in the area and his brothers, Seamus and Patsy live in the neighborhood as well.
A few miles to the east of Cappauniac, in the city of Clonmel, lives one of Matt's daughters, Bridget Ivin, better known to all as B.B. Bridget's son, Peter Ivin, also lives in Clonmel with his wife, Angela, and their children.
Another of Matt's daughters, Margaret (Peg) Marsland, lives a few miles north in County Kilkenny.
Matt's other daughters ended up in America.
E-Mail: emurnane@murnane.org