Does anyone know of the "coonee-ite" religious group?

Answer 1

The Cooneyites are a Protestant Christian sect which grew out of another similar sect, popularly known as "Christian Conventions", "Two by Two" and other names in the absence of an official name. The latter was founded by William Irvine in Ireland in 1897 and the evangelist Edward Cooney, from whom the name "Cooneyite" derives, was associated with Irvine from this time. Nevertheless, it was not until 1901 that Cooney relinquished his stake in his family business (donating £1300 to Irvine's ministry) and became a tramp preacher.

From this time, Irvine and Cooney were considered the two chief leaders of the ministry. Thus Cooney was heavily involved in the doctrinally-similar Two by Two sect, which is often confused with the Cooneyites sect. Cooney was excommunicated by the Two by Two sect at a leaders' meeting on October 12, 1928 at Clankilvoragh in Lurgan, Ireland.

Today Cooneyites are a small but recognised sect in the United Kingdom, having just over 200 members according to the 2001 UK Census. According to Roberts (1990), the Cooneyites still exist as a minority Christian denomination in various places around the world, who still meet in homes for church meetings. Notable places include:

Northern Ireland
Australia, notably:
Mildura, Victoria
Young, New South Wales - district
Muswellbrook, New South Wales - Hunter Valley
Ballina, New South Wales - district