Cooley
Taken From Inishowen (Its History, Traditions, and Antiquities) Maghtochair

Near the Church of Cooley stands a lofty handsome stone cross. We believe there are few places in Ireland of the same extent so rich in stone crosses as Inishowen and few whose workmanship bespeaks a more remote origin and higher degree of art; the wonder is how so many have been preserved up to the present time. Dr. Reeves, in a lecture which he delivered a few years ago, speaks in strong terms of the vandalism that was practised on Irish crosses and other works of art in Down and Antrim, and elsewhere It appears some were broken in fragments by the disciples of McAdam, and strewn on the public highway; others were used as lintels of doors, others as chimney-stones, and some in building fences. It is really creditable that such vandalism has not been practised in Inishowen; still there are exceptions, for that cross of Cooley has its history. Probably it can date its origin to the time of St. Finian, who was abbot of that celebrated monastery, and patron of the parish, or perhaps even to the time of St. Patrick, by whom the monastery was first founded. It has its religious memories and its old associations. The good monks of Cooley often knelt and prayed before it; the stranger, who was hospitably received at the door, and lodged for the night within Cooley's walls, knelt before it in the morning ere he departed from the monastery gate. When the monastery was destroyed during the civil wars of 1688, the cross survived the wreck, and in the dark days of persecution, when religion was proscribed and its ministers banished, the descendants of the old Celtic race who inhabited these mountains and preserved the faith of their fathers, reverenced that cross and paid it a passing visit.

In the beginning of the present century, a new road was to pass by Cooley - the cross was in its way, and hence it must be tumbled; so, at least, said a magistrate, and some of the surrounding gentry. The good Dr. Callaghan, however, who was at that time pastor of Moville, thought otherwise. The power of a magistrate and of the gentry was great in those times; the influence of a priest was insignificant indeed. Who dare, gainsay what the lords of the soil would determine? Yes, Dr. Callaghan did oppose them, and oppose them effectually. The labourers were at work, the gentry stood by, the old cross was about to fall, but the worthy priest, backed by his people rushed to the rescue, and preserved it as it stands up to the present day. We admire the heroism of the Roman, Horatius Cocles, defending the bridge till the last plank was cut, and then flinging himself, amid showers of darts, into old Father Tiber, and swimming to the opposite shore; we admire the courage of the stalwart blacksmith of Limerick, quitting his forge, seizing a sledge hammer, and rushing to the defence of Limerick's walls; but far more noble the Christian heroism of the good old priest who rushed to the rescue of this time honoured and hallowed symbol of man's redemption.

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