Irish records don't go back far enough to show when the first Murnanes and Marnanes lived in County Tipperary, nor do they indicate where the family originated.
Official records go back only to about 1864. Church records go back farther, but in most cases only to about 1820.
But bits and pieces of research can shed some light on the family's history, and legends and folklore passed down through the years provide other information. And in keeping with our Murnane heritage and imagination, there is no shortage of theories.
John Marnane of the townland of Cappauniac said Marnanes have lived at Cappauniac since the late 1500s, but there is no evidence to prove or disprove that theory.
The late Edmond (Neddie) Marnane, who spent his entire life in the Marnane family's white stone cottage in Cappauniac, said all the Marnanes in the area were related but that few people in the 18th and 19th Centuries paid close attention to exactly how they were related.
The earliest known ancestor of the Cappauniac Marnanes is William Marnane, who would have been born around 1780. It was William's son, Edmond, who fathered the 12 children around whom this research has revolved.
Neddie confirmed that the family has lived on the area for "generations," and he said that the one-story white house in which he lived was the oldest house in the parish.
The land was owned by absentee English landlords and the Marnanes were farmers who tended the land and lived off the dairy products. They do not show up as landowners in any early legal documents
Irish records do show that Murnane/Marnane family wills were filed as early as 1749 in the Catholic dioceses of Cashel and Emily, which served the southern Tipperary area. Wills were recorded in the names of Thomas (1749), Patrick (1788), John (1776) and Edmond (1792). All could have been brothers of William (c1780) and their progeny are the likely origins of several other Marnane families, including John of Cappauniac and John of Bansha.
However, a census of Catholics taken in 1766 in the civil parishes (equivalent of county or village) of Killardry and Clonbulloge show no Murnanes or Marnanes, but do show a "Richard Barrane" and an "Edmond Barane."
It is possible that either (or both) of these was a Murnane or Marnane and that handwriting or word-of-mouth recording was inaccurate. It is also possible, but not likely, that there were no Murnanes or Marnanes living in the area in 1766.
And it is possible that the Murnanes and Marnanes were not anxious to be recorded in a census of Catholics that was being taken by the hostile government. Cappauniac, where many Marnanes were living, is not an easy place to find, even in 1997.
Another theory expressed by Margaret (Peg) Marnane Marsland, daughter of Matthew, who today lives in Kilkenny, is that the Marnanes were workers employed by a landowner named Uniacke who settled in Tipperary in the Fourteenth century and who owned most of the land in the area. Many of the workers came from England, including the Marnanes, who were originally from Sussex, an area south of London.
Peg Marnane Marsland said all the Marnanes and Murnanes in Ireland are believed to have descended from the Tipperary Murnanes.
Uniacke was referred to as Captain Uniacke and the townland was given the name, Cappauniacke. The spelling was changed to the present, Cappauniac, but some Irish documents show the earlier spelling.
The 1834 Church Tithe and Tax books for Killardry Parish show "Edmond Marnane of Cappagh Uniacke" and "William Marnane of Cappagh Uniacke" as the taxpayers.In September, 1847, the documents prepared for a later land valuation study showed three Murnanes at Cappauniac Townland (the spelling had been changed). The three were Richard Murnane, who had a house of 27 by 16 feet; William Murnane, who had a house of 39 by 18 feet, a barn of 21 by 17 feet, and "sundry offices" of 35 by 14 feet; and Edmond Murnane, who had a house of 40.6 by 19 feet, a barn of 25.6 by 16.6 feet, and "sundry offices" of 41.6 by 16.6 feet.
Interestingly, the houses of Richard and William were indicated as 6 feet high, while that of Edmond was 14 feet high. Given the conditions in County Tipperary at the time, it is possible that the two smaller houses were little more than mud huts, a typical dwelling for farmers in south and western Ireland at the time.
The 1851 valuation of land in Ireland showed Edmond "Maurnane" and William "Maurnane" to be the tenants on land owned by Rev. J. M. Dawson in the townland of "Cappaunic."
While William and Edmond were father and son, it is interesting to note that another tenant was Eleanor Britt, who was subleasing land from Edmond. Eleanor most likely was the mother or aunt of Johanna Britt, whom Edmond married in 1858. It is known that Johanna Britt lived about one mile way from the Marnane home.
The Irish National Census taken in 1901 shows who was living at Cappauniac at the time.
The records show Edmond and Johanna and their family, and also show John and Kate Marnane, and seven children. John and Kate would have been the grandparents of John and his brother, Billie. Their father, John (Jack) was 13 in 1901.
Also living at Cappauniac in 1901 was a Kathleen Marnane, 75 years old, and described as a widow and the head of her family. She was living with a daughter, Bridget, who was 35.
Edmond Marnane, born in 1817, would have been 83 or 84 years old at the time of the 1901 census. It is quite possible that Kathleen, at 75, was the widowed sister of one of his brothers.
Speculation that John Marnane was a brother of Edmond's is tempting, but there are reasons to doubt it. John's first son was named Edmond, which indicates that his father was named Edmond as well, since it was customary to name the first son after the child's paternal grandfather. John had a son named William but he was the third son.
It is interesting to observe that the widow, Kathleen, was indicated to be "receiving money from America" in 1901.
By the time of the 1911 census, Kathleen apparently had died and Bridget, now listed as 46 years old and the head of the family, was living with a nephew, Richard Fahey, who was a carpenter, 30 years old, and single.
Between the 1901 and 1911 censuses, both Edmond and Johanna died and ownership of the land passed to son Matthew, the oldest son still in Tipperary. Matthew was 38 at the time and described as a farmer. His son, Edmond (Neddie), who lived in the family home until his death in 1994, was three months old at the time the census was taken.
Having total access to local records does not mean the search for relationships is made easier; in fact, it becomes more complicated. For example, the parish records at the Catholic church in Bansha (where Kilmoyler Parish records are also kept) reveal that there were 32 Murnane (or Marnane) marriages between 1826 and 1899. And there were 68 Murnane/Marnane births. And it seems as if Edmond, Johanna, William, Bridget, Patrick, John and Mary were the only names available.
There were so many different Murnane branches in the Bansha-Kilmoyler-Cappauniac area, in fact, that sometimes, Murnanes married other Murnanes, or came close to it. John's grandmother on his mother's side was Jane Marnane from Toureen, about a mile from Cappauniac. Jane married John Casey (church records show that took place on July 26, 1893). John and Jane Casey's daughter, Bridget, then married Jack Marnane, who was the son of John Marnane of Cappauniac.
Cemetery records also can be confusing. The family graves at Kilaldriffe Cemetery show several "Edmond Marnanes," including an Edmond Marnane who died in 1926 and is buried next to his wife, Johanna, who died in 1971.
E-Mail: emurnane@murnane.org