Statement by An Taoiseach on the death of Jimmy Magee

It is with great sadness that I learned today of the death of iconic sports commentator, Jimmy Magee.  

His commentaries were legendary and based on a breadth of sporting knowledge that was peerless. He also had an innate sense of timing which often meant that Jimmy’s descriptions of great events became as memorable as the events themselves.

For many Irish people, Jimmy Magee’s voice is the soundtrack of their sporting memories.  From Maradona, to Michael Carruth, to Eamonn Coghlan and John Treacy and many, many more, he covered all the great events with a warmth, clarity and infectious enthusiasm.

Jimmy was part of the very fabric of Irish sport.  He lived and breathed it and would talk and reminisce and recall sport with anyone and everyone.  Though Jimmy’s voice may now be silent, the wonderful memories brought to us by the Memory Man himself will live on forever.