Edward Cooney
Encyclopedia
Edward Cooney was an Irish evangelist from the 1890s to the 1950s. He became one of the early leaders of a church founded by William Irvine
William Irvine
William Irvine may refer to:*William Irvine , Clerk of the Rolls for Scotland*William Irvine , American Revolutionary War general, congressman from Pennsylvania...

. Because of his colorful style and public preaching, his name came to be associated with the entire movement. Later, after Irvine's ouster, Cooney began to criticize the development of hierarchy within the Two by Twos, its taking of a name for official purposes, and abandonment of other of its original tenets. He and those who agreed with him were later expelled, and formed a looser group which is referred to as the Cooneyites
Cooneyites
The Cooneyites are a Protestant sect which split from the Two by Twos, originally called "the Tramps" or "the Go-Preachers" founded by William Irvine, often referred to today as "The Truth" or "Cooneyites". References to the term "Cooneyites" prior to 1928 refer to the group described under Two by...

. He continued as an itinerant evangelist until his death in 1960.

Early life

Edward Cooney was born in 1867 in Enniskillen
Enniskillen
Enniskillen is a town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is located almost exactly in the centre of the county between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,599 in the 2001 Census...

, County Fermanagh
County Fermanagh
Fermanagh District Council is the only one of the 26 district councils in Northern Ireland that contains all of the county it is named after. The district council also contains a small section of County Tyrone in the Dromore and Kilskeery road areas....

 in the north of Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

, the third of eight children. He was baptised into the Church of Ireland
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...

 at St. Anne's parish church (now St Macartan's Cathedral) there. His father was William Rutherford Cooney, a prominent local merchant, and his mother was Emily Maria Carson Cooney. He was educated first at the Enniskillen Model School. He went on to attend the prestigious Portora Royal School
Portora Royal School
Portora Royal School for boys, and some 6th form girls, located in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, is one of a number of 'free schools' founded by Royal Charter in 1608, by James I...

, which counted Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...

 and, later, Samuel Beckett
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet. He wrote both in English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour.Beckett is widely regarded as among the most...

 among its graduates. He was remembered by a classmate as "one of the nicest and best behaved" students at that time. Following school, he made a start in the family's business interests.

Edward's devout, elder brother William contracted tuberculosis when Edward was 17 years old. Edward also developed the infection, and they were sent to their uncle in Australia to recuperate, first William, followed by Edward. William worsened during 1887, and Edward took him to Ceylon where his mother and sister met them. Edward returned to Australia, while William was taken Ireland. William died a week after arriving home. This reportedly prompted Edward to reexamine his own life, and he felt drawn to a closer relationship with God at this time.

Begins preaching

Edward traveled throughout Ireland on behalf of his family's business, and during the 1890s began preaching in the towns which he visited. As many of these areas were primarily Roman Catholic, Cooney's strident Protestant views often resulted in an uproar. Although still an active member of the Church of Ireland, he occasionally preached alongside members of other churches. In 1897, he met William Irvine
William Irvine (Scottish evangelist)
William Irvine was an evangelist from the late nineteenth century, and continuing through the first half of the twentieth century.Mr. Irvine was born in Kilsyth, located in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, the third of eleven children of a miner...

 in Borrisokane
Borrisokane
Borrisokane is a town in North Tipperary, Ireland. In 2006 it had a population of approximately 1,145. It is situated on the N52/N65 National secondary road between Nenagh and Portumna and the N52 between Nenagh and Birr. It is close to Lough Derg which is only 12 km to the west. It is a...

.

William Irvine was a preacher with the interdenominational Faith Mission
Faith mission
Faith mission is a term used most frequently among evangelical Christians to refer to a missionary organization with an approach to evangelism that encourages its missionaries to "trust in God to provide the necessary resources" These missionaries are said to "live by faith."Most faith...

 who had become convinced that all churches had become apostate. In 1897, Irvine had begun preaching independently, and began gathering the nucleus of what would become a notable sect, the only religious movement known to have originated in Ireland. Cooney was profoundly influenced by Irvine's vision of a return to the method of ministry as commanded in Matthew 10, and regarded Irvine as "a prophet raised up by God".

Four years later, Cooney abandoned the family business, sold all his possessions, and joined Irvine's new movement. From Ireland, he travelled to England, preaching in Hyde Park
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...

, London, and at the Keswick Convention
Keswick Convention
The Keswick Convention is an annual gathering of evangelical Christians in Keswick, in the English county of Cumbria.- History :The Keswick Convention began in 1875 as a catalyst and focal point for the emerging Higher Life movement in the United Kingdom. It was founded by an Anglican, Canon T. D....

s. As one of its most noteworthy speakers throughout the British Isles, some began calling the nameless sect "Cooneyism", a name by which it is still known in some quarters. This led some to mistakenly assume that Cooney had founded the Two by Two church. Cooney denied starting the movement and testified in court that William Irvine had the founding role.

Cooney's family connections were useful in obtaining venues in County Fermanagh. His younger brother Alfred was a solicitor and worked on various legal matters for members of the Two by Twos. Alfred was found at their parent's home with his throat slit on 29 August 1909. In 1924, Edward's father died. He bequeathed a small annual income to Edward on condition that he give up preaching and return to the Church of Ireland. Cooney never took advantage of the offer.

When the schism between William Irvine and many in the group's leadership occurred, Mr. Cooney sided with the senior Head Workers. He did so because he thought Irvine was falling away from the movement's original ideals, and hoped that those would be restored. Despite this, and like many other senior Workers, he did not completely sever ties with Mr. Irvine. In the following years, Cooney continued as a true itinerant, and preached in countries around the globe as he felt led, with little regard to the spheres of influence being carved out by various Overseers..

Excommunication

But as time progressed, there was no return to what Cooney saw as the original simplicity within the movement, and he began publicly expressing himself with regards to what he saw as being unscriptural additions and growing organization. These included the growing hierarchy entailing a division of territory between senior workers, finances, annual conventions, the so-called “Living Witness” doctrine, the taking of denominational names during the first World War, and other matters. That Edward Cooney was free to preach wherever he felt led, and did not believe that he had to submit his messages to be approved by the regional Overseers became a situation the latter would no longer tolerate after having attempted to persuade him to operate within their new framework.

Edward Cooney's excommunication was finalized during an extraordinary meeting held on 12 October 1928 at the home of Andrew Knox in Lurgan
Lurgan
Lurgan is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is near the southern shore of Lough Neagh and in the north-eastern corner of the county. Part of the Craigavon Borough Council area, Lurgan is about 18 miles south-west of Belfast and is linked to the city by both the M1 motorway...

, Northern Ireland. During this meeting, rules were promulgated for the relationship between Overseers and the conduct of workers who preached within their respective territories. Cooney refused to submit, and was summarily expelled.

Continued evangelism

A group of people who agreed with his position followed him out (or were expelled for keeping contact with him), and eventually formed their own independent fellowship
Cooneyites
The Cooneyites are a Protestant sect which split from the Two by Twos, originally called "the Tramps" or "the Go-Preachers" founded by William Irvine, often referred to today as "The Truth" or "Cooneyites". References to the term "Cooneyites" prior to 1928 refer to the group described under Two by...

.

During the next three decades, Cooney and others in fellowship with him continued to preach worldwide. Cooney was instrumental during the late 1930s in setting up a treatment program for alcoholic indigents in Birmingham, Alabama. Unlike his earlier fiery denunciation of clerics and denominations, he now was able to work alongside them, although he still did not accept them as fellow-believers in the "Jesus Way".

Those who adhered to Mr. Cooney's views today form an independent group, having dispensed with the office of “Worker” and other vestiges of clericalism which they saw as having crept in over the years. Edward Cooney died in 1960 and is buried in Mildura, Victoria
Mildura, Victoria
Mildura is a regional city in northwestern Victoria, Australia and seat of the Rural City of Mildura local government area. It is located in the Sunraysia region, and is on the banks of the Murray River. The current population is estimated at just over 30,000.Mildura is a major agricultural centre...

, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

.

Further reading

  • Roberts, Patricia, 1991, "Selected Letters, Hymns and Poems of Edward Cooney, 1867–1960" published by William Trimble, Ltd., Enniskillen, Northern Ireland.
  • Roberts, Patricia, 1997, "Selected Letters of Fred Wood 1890–1986" published by William Trimble, Ltd., Enniskillen, Northern Ireland.
  • "Eddie Cooney's Bible Bag"

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