He may be dead but his memory will live forever
Stars turn out to celebrate the life of Jimmy Magee
THEY came in throngs to show their respects, shed a tear and, more importantly, celebrate the astonishingly joyous life and career of Jimmy Magee.
And, despite the sadness, concelebrant Fr Brian D’Arcy could not let the occasion pass without some reminders of the sense of fun and humour that was such a part of our memories of the Memory Man.
He recalled Jimmy telling him how, when he was a DJ, hosting a sponsored radio show, he had welcomed Ella Fitzgerald ‘to the Glen Abbey show’, and the famous singer replied: ‘I’m pleased to be here, Glen.’
But it was mostly a sombre occasion yesterday as famous faces from the worlds of sports, entertainment and politics joined family and friends for his funeral at the Church of St Laurence O’Toole in Kilmacud, south Dublin.
Fr D’Arcy – a close friend of the popular sports commentator, as were many of the celebrities present – told the hundreds of mourners that no-one could sum up the life and times of the legendary broadcaster.
He said: ‘The Memory Man may be dead, but his memory will live forever. The poets tell us that as long as a person’s memory lives, that person will never die, and God knows we know that Jimmy’s memories will be better than his own memory, it will never die.’
He added: ‘It’s as if an era died with him, all those sporting and entertainment memories, the voice of Jimmy Magee was to be found in them all, and the voice of Jimmy Magee is silent now.
‘We’ll never hear those quirky turns of phrase, those lists of facts, those little commas in a life that made sense of a sentence. But we’ll never forget Jimmy.’
The funeral procession had been met at 11.30am by members of the Jimmy Magee All-Stars, who formed a guard of honour around the coffin. And among the sporting legends who packed the church were Roy Keane, Sport Ireland chief and former athlete John Treacy, along with some our most famous Olympic boxers Michael Carruth, Bernard Dunne and Kenneth Egan. There also were Michelle De Bruin, Babs Keating, Nicky English, Kerry’s Mick O’Connell and Dublin’s Jimmy Keaveney.
From RTÉ and the world of entertainment came veteran DJ Larry Gogan, commentators Tony O’Donoghue, Seán Bán Breathnach, Marty Morrissey, Des Cahill and Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh, along with RTÉ’s Head of Sport Ryle Nugent.
FAI chief John Delaney and GAA president Aogán Ó Fearghaíl were also there, as were Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin and Sports Minister Shane Ross. President Michael D Higgins was represented by his aide-de-camp Cmdt Emmet Harney.
Mr Magee, aged 82, passed away after a short illness at St Vincent’s University Hospital on Tuesday night and is survived by his children Linda, June, Patricia and Mark, He was predeceased by his wife Marie, who died in 1989, and son Paul, who died of motor neuron disease in 2008.
From Cooley, Co. Louth, he started off as a railway clerical worker before joining RTÉ. He commentated on 11 Olympic Games, 12 World Cups, 30 European Cup finals, several Tours de France, the World Athletic Championships and boxing during his career. The burial was at Shanganagh cemetery.
‘It’s as if an era died with him’