Two Traditions

Two families in Stradbally living centuries apart, one famous for its historic manuscripts and the other for ‘Electric Picnic’, were brought together in an unexpected way in 1990.

From the time of his arrival in Ireland in 1564 to occupy 2000 acres of land at Stradbally seized from  the O’Mores, the soldier and planter Francis Cosby was fighting for his family’s survival.  He is still remembered for the Massacre of Mullaghmast  in 1577 where he arranged the slaughter of 100-400 O’More leaders whom he had invited for negotiations.

In the years that followed the family prospered at Stradbally, loyal to the English Throne. They took over the old church at nearby Oughaval for their family vault. Francis’s body is not there. It lies in the Wicklow hills where he died fighting the Irish at the 1580 battle of Glenmalure.    

The Cosbys continued to supply soldiers and administers for England, remaining staunchly Protestant. I saw what this meant for their Catholic tenants when I came across a Mass Rock in Oughaval Woods, just outside the Cosby demesne. It dates from Penal Times (1691-1727) when the Catholics of Stradbally had to go there secretly to celebrate their faith out of sight of their landlord.  

The situation eased in 1796 when Admiral Philipps Cosby, a serving naval officer, granted a lease for a Catholic place of worship in the town.

The family remained Church of Ireland until unexpectedly in 1990 their then head, Adrian Cosby, was impressed by a family he knew and joined the Greek Orthodox Church. He built a domed Russian Orthodox-style church in the town and named it ‘St Colman of Oughaval’. Was it a coincidence?

The Cosby family vaults at Oughaval stand on the 6^th century site of Colman Maca Laoighse’s monastic community. Daily life in Colman’s monastic ‘family’ faithfully followed the ‘Desert Fathers’ spiritual and scholastic tradition dominant in Ireland between 500 and 1100.

Among the famous manuscripts it produced was the ‘Book of Leinster’, now in Trinity College Dublin. It contains the oldest version of the epic Ulster Cycle tale, ‘The Cattle Raid of Cooley’.

The Orthodox Churches also faithfully follow the ‘Desert Fathers’ tradition. They differ only in cultural preferences. While the Orthodox treasure their icons, the Irish continued to use natural symbols and practices to approach the sacred. In the ‘holy space’ beside the Mass Rock in Oughaval Wood you will find a ‘sacred tree’, complete with fragments of prayer cloths.     

Did Adrian Cosby see the connection between Oughaval and the Orthodox Church when he named his church ‘St Colman of Oughaval’? 

St Colman of Oughaval is celebrated in the Orthodox calendar on 15 May.