Nicholas P. Lunn presents evidence that Irenaeus of Lyons (c. 180) quoted from Mark 16:19, a part of the longer ending of Mark.
Nicholas P. Lunn, The Original Ending of Mark: A New Case for the Authenticity of Mark 16:9-20 (Eugene, Oregon: Pickwick Publications, 2014), 82-83
Irenaeus
Irenaeus was bishop of Lyons in the latter part of the second century. Like Justin before him, Irenaeus was one of the great apologists of the early church. The work for which he is best known is his five-volume Adversus Haereses (“Against Heresies”), written between 175 and 189. Here there is absolutely no question regarding the fact of this church’ father’s acquaintance with the longer ending seeing that he actually gives a named citation ascribed to Mark:
Also, towards the conclusion of his Gospel, Mark says; “So then, after the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was received up into heaven, and sits on the right hand of God”; confirming what had been spoken by the prophet [Ps. 110;1]. (Haer. 3.10.5)
Irenaeus here quotes Mark 16:19 verbatim. The point he is making is that the second Gospel closes with the fulfillment of a prophecy, Psalm 110, just as it begins with one, Isaiah 40:3 in Mark 1:2-3. In both of these texts, Jesus is identified as “Lord,” though not indicating, Irenaeus explains, a separate deity from God the Father. We believe Irenaeus’ linking of these two passages, the beginning and ending of the Gospel, to be insightful, and one that we shall return to later in the book.
One further important observation regarding Irenaeus’ use of Mark 16:19 is that this, together with the accompanying Mark 1:2-3, is in fact the first ever instance of an explicitly named citation form any part of the second Gospel in extant patristic literature. It would be a remarkable irony if the first church father to quote from this Gospel in the name of “Mark,” should in actual fact be quoting from the part supposedly not written by Mark at all!
As with Justin, if Irenaeus referred to the Markan ending once, he may have done so elsewhere. This is in fact the case earlier in the second book of the same work. In a passage regarding the miraculous gifts given to the church, Irenaeus makes clear allusion to phrases form the last part of Mark 16. Towards the close of 2.32.3 he mentions the fact that “the Lord rose from the dead on the third day, and manifested himself to his disciples, and in their sight was received up into heaven.” In the following section Irenaeus then states:
Wherefore, also, those who are in truth his disciples, receiving grace from him, do in his name perform miracles . . . some do certainly and truly drive out demons . . . Others still, heal the sick by laying their hands upon them, and they are made whole.” (Haer. 2.32.4)
The words “in his name,” “drive out demons,” “heal the stick by laying their hands on them,” and “they are made whole,” all have closely matching phrases in Mark 16:17-18 where we find: “in my name they will cast out demons . . .they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be made well.”