What is "cooneyites"

''This article refers to the Christian sect founded by Edward Cooney. In some places, the term Cooneyites refers to Two by Twos, the church from which this sect split in the early 1900s.''

The Cooneyites are a Protestant sect which split from the nameless church commonly known as Two by Twos; the church was originally called "the Tramps" or "the Go-Preachers" founded by William Irvine, often referred to today as "The Truth" or, confusingly, "Cooneyites". References to the term "Cooneyites" prior to 1928 refer to the group described under Two by Twos. After that time, followers who were expelled from the Two by Twos along with Edward Cooney are called "Cooneyites". In some areas, the Two by Two church, which has gone under various labels, has continued to be labeled as "Cooneyite" by outsiders up to the present. Both the Cooneyites and the Two by Twos reject the term "Cooneyite".

Edward Cooney was a noted preacher during the 1890s and early 20th century. He joined William Irvine's new movement as an itinerant evangelist. He became increasingly critical of the church's moves towards institutionalization, and was expelled in 1928, along with those who agreed with him. They formed a loose fellowship which continues to the present.