Francis Cosby

Francis Cosby (1510–1580) was an English soldier and settler in Ireland. He has been implicated in the Massacre of Mullaghmast.

Life He was the second son of John Cosby of Great Leake, Nottingham. He settled in Ireland in the reign of Henry VIII. He was active in fighting on the edge of the English Pale, and was commended by the Lord Deputies Edward Bellingham and Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex.

In 1558 Cosby was appointed general of the Kerne, and in 1562 was granted the suppressed abbey of Stradbally in Queen's County. The estates subsequently passed to Richard, another son of Alexander, whose descendants still possess them. Arnold, Francis Cosby's second son, served under Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester in the Low Countries.