Welcome to the Kissane name project
The Kissane Surname Y-DNA Project is open to all persons with the surname Kissane, Cashman, Cussane, Gussane, Patterson.
The original Irish form is O Ciosain.
Kissane is the form found in Co. Kerry. Cashman is the form found in Co. Cork. Cussane and Gussane are rare and found in Co. Clare.
Following is a short history of the Kissane name.
The name Kissane is a phonetic anglicisation of the Gaelic name "O Ciosain" where the "O", the first "i" and the "a" all have acute accents to broaden the vowels.
The name is a composite of three Gaelic words.
"O" means "son of". (Note: I always understood that Mac means "son of" and "O" means "grandson of". Patrick Kissane).
"Cios" means "rent".
"Ain" means "the act of driving" e.g. cattle.
Combined into O Ciosain, the name means "son of the rent driver".
In olden days, subjects of the local chieftain were required to pay rent, normally in the form of livestock, to their chieftain who leased them land to farm. The original Kissanes were employed by the Black Valley chieftain at one time to collect this rent. The Black Valley is a valley about six miles from Killarney town, nestling at the foot of the mountain range which is a major feature of the Killarney landscape. Seemingly, the Kissanes at that time were taller and bigger than other families and therefore better suited to extracting the rent from the chieftain's subjects. Rent was normally paid in sheep or cattle and the Kissanes had to collect the cattle and sheep and drive them back to the chieftain - hence "driving the rent".
The above information re the Kissane name is taken from the web-page of Al Kissane of Chicago. I understand that is was initially written by an academic at the Irish National Library in Dublin, a Dr. Noel Kissane.
People in Ireland did not begin to adopt surnames until the 11th century when they apparently became mandatory. The chieftain of the Loch Lein area in the early 11th century was the O' Carroll. During the 11th century, the area passed from the O' Carroll to the Moriarty and from him to the O'Donoghue. We might, therefore, draw a tentative conclusion that the first persons bearing the surname Kissane were rent or tribute collectors to the O' Carroll chieftain in the 11th century. But this conclusion can only be verified by doing research on original documents.
There is an area in Co. Kerry near Killorglin called Ballykissane. Ballykissane means "the dwelling of the Kissanes".
Edward MacLysaght, one-time Chief Herald of Ireland, in his standard work on Irish surnames has this to say on the surname KISSANE.
"KISSANE, CASHMAN, CUSSANE, PATTERSON.
It is sad that the euphonious Irish name Kissane, the form still use in Kerry, should have been transmogrified into the English word Cashman as has happened in Co. Cork. No doubt Kerry being more inaccessible was less subject to English influence during the period of Gaelic submergence. O'Kissane was still the form used in Co. Cork at the time of the Cromwellian Settlement, as the various seventeenth century records show. In Irish the surname is O Ciosain, Gussane is found in west Clare."
It can safely be assumed that all persons of the name Kissane originate from Co. Kerry. Even today, most Kissanes in Ireland are found in Co. Kerry, especially north Kerry
I also received information from Ann Kissane (annkissane @gmail.com) re the Kissane surname. She said "I am attaching some recent work by Declan Downey RAH from UCD. He presented this at a Kissane gathering a couple of years back.
It formed part of a book of three branches of our Family tree (Al Kissane is included)."
ORIGIN AND EXPLANATION OF THE KISSANE FAMILY AND ITS COAT- OF-ARMS
The O Ciosain or Kissane family is a sept of the MacCarthy Mor, one of the Eoghanacht dynasties that provided the ancient kings of Munster. By the end of the twelfth century, the MacCarthy Mor had retreated to the Iveragh Peninsula and SouthKerry where they consolidated their position. On the coast near Killorglin, there is a townland called Ballykissane – BaileUi Ciosan,. This was the original estate or ancestral seat of the clan.
The name Kissane is the anglicised form of the name O Ciosain. It is derived from the Gaelic word cios meaning tribute or rent. As the name suggests, the family had responsibility for collecting tributes or rents due to the MacCarthy Mor, hencetheir adoption of the armorial bearing of that dynasty, but with two subtle differences. The MacCarthy Mor stag is depicted ‘trippant’- with its right foreleg raised, whereas the O Ciosain stag is portrayed statant’ – stationery or standing on all fours. The crest of the helmet of the MacCarthy Mor is a right hand in armour raised and holding a green lizard, whereas that of the O Ciosainis a green lizard standing atop the helmet.
The correct and proper coat-of-arms of the O Ciosain or Kissane family is a silver shield upon which is depicted a stag stationary with gold antlers and hooves. In heraldic terminology: Úpon a field Ärgenta Stag Stattant Gules and attired Or’. Where the arms is depicted with helmet and mantling (the cloak that suspends from the helmet and drapes around the shield), the mantling takes the primary colours of the shield, i.e. ‘Gules on Argent’(Red on Silver), and on top of the helmet, the crest is a lizard vert(green). The family motto is: “Fortiet Fideli Nihil Dificile – for the strong and faithful, Nothing is Difficult”.
The red stag is the ancient totem of the MacCarthy Mor clan and their septs. It appears on the arms of other Eoghanacht families as well. It is connected with the royal chase whereby the legitimacy of an elected king is confirmed when the stag who has entered his realm within days of his election is hunted and slain by the king. In heraldry, the stag represents harmony and its red colours represents military strength and magnanimity. The lizard represents endurance,and its green colours symbolizes hope and loyalty. The silver (or white) colour of the shield represents sincerity. Following Elizabeth’s grant of the title of Earl of Clancare in the Peerage of Ireland to Donal MacCarthy Mor on 24 June 1565, the traditional arms were formally registered with the Ulster-King-of-Arms in Dublin Castle. The Kissanes adopted their arms accordingly with the same two differentiations as mentioned above.
DeclanM. Downey, Ph.D. (Cantab), RAH,
UniversityCollege Dublin,
School of History & Archives
The red stag shown in profile is the Kissane crest.
William Kissane Rogers.
A link to his adventurous life. kissane
https://temelec.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/william-kissane-rogers-journal-version.pdf
Cashmans of Glanmire, Co. Cork.
Bill Cashman (william.cashman.1956@gmail.com) has posted his family history, Cashman
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eT1z4cC-sqI5WhosA5jPQvm54zWAgVOs/view?usp=drive_web