Father Nicholas Couris (born 1896 - died 3(16) August 1977) was an officer in the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

, and combat veteran of the

White Army The White Army (russian: Белая армия, Belaya armiya) or White Guard (russian: Бѣлая гвардія/Белая гвардия, Belaya gvardiya, label=none), also referred to as the Whites or White Guardsmen (russian: Бѣлогв� ...

during the

Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...

, and, in his old age, a priest of the

Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (russian: Ру́сская Правосла́вная Це́рковь Заграни́цей, lit=Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, translit=Russkaya Pravoslavnaya Tserkov' Zagranitsey), also called Ru ...

stationed in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, Ireland. Nicholas married Ksenia Nikolaevna Couris ''née'' Bibikova (1895-1966) in Constantinople before moving to England then they moved to Ireland in 1931 renting the old Courthouse in Collon and growing mushrooms. Their only son Illa died following an accident aged 9 in 1934. Nicholas set up a Russian Language school in the old Courthouse Collon, helped by his wife and his cousin Prince Paul Lieven. They taught Irish and British diplomats Russian, rumour has it he also taught some British spies Russian. Among those whom he taught Russian were the Irish diplomat and politician

Conor Cruise O'Brien Donal Conor David Dermot Donat Cruise O'Brien (3 November 1917 – 18 December 2008), often nicknamed "The Cruiser", was an Irish diplomat, politician, writer, historian and academic, who served as Minister for Posts and Telegraphs from 1973 ...

and the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh Dr.

George Simms George Otto Simms (4 July 1910 – 15 November 1991) was an archbishop in the Church of Ireland. Early life and education George Otto Simms was born on 4 July 1910 in North Dublin in Ireland to parents John Francis A Simms & Ottilie Sophie Sta ...

, also the Cambridge spies Kim Philby, Guy Burgess, and Donald Maclean, visited Father Couriss and his school in Collon.A tiny corner of Cambridge, and Lichfield, and Russia, in Collon, Co Louth
by Patrick Comerford, August 31, 2011. Following the death of his wife, he moved to Dublin and lived with his sister Luba de Couris. He was ordained as a Russian Orthodox priest in New Your in 1967. Fr Couris' funeral took place in Saint Bartholomew’s Church, Dublin, and he was buried in the Church of Ireland graveyard, Collon, County Louth, alongside his wife and only son.

External links

*
In Memory of Father Nicholas Couriss

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Couris, Nicholas 1896 births 1977 deaths Irish people of Russian descent Irish priests Eastern Orthodox Christians from Ireland Russian anti-communists Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United Kingdom Russian nobility Priests of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia 20th-century Eastern Orthodox priests