John Mackey, the 87-year-old Irish man who died after being attacked while walking home from grocery shopping in north London, will be remembered as a man “with a twinkle in his eye”, his funeral heard on Thursday.
Originally from Callan, Co Kilkenny, Mr Mackey had been living in London since the age of 19.
He was running errands on the afternoon of May 6th when he was allegedly assaulted near his home close to Goodchild Road. He suffered serious head injuries and died in hospital two days later.
On Thursday, his remains were carried into the Church of the Assumption in his south Kilkenny hometown by six pallbearers, a number of whom were his nephews.
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A guard of honour was provided by retired Irish UN peacekeepers, as one of Mr Mackey’s brothers is a former member.
His coffin was adorned with two flags, representing his beloved Arsenal Football Club and the county colours of Kilkenny. There was also a photograph of Mr Mackey wearing his trilby hat.
Mementos of his life were brought to the altar by members of his extended family. Parish priest Fr William Dalton said Mr Mackey’s trilby exemplified how he had always been a dapper dresser with a love of good clothes.
The Callan flag, and a book on the town by John Fitzgerald that had brought Mr Mackey memories of his beloved county, were included, as well as a photo of him with two nephews and his brother Christy.
There were his rosary beads which were said to have helped him through his long, happy and fruitful life.
Fr Dalton told mourners they were there “to say farewell as a person with faith which helped him through a long and happy life”.
“When we think of the Mackeys in the 1930s and 1940s, a family of 11 children, six boys and five girls, a very Catholic family. Their mother died when the eldest of the children was 15 and to make matters worse their father was taken from them. It was a time when there were no social services and no children’s allowance, but they were able to survive,” he said.
He recalled how their sister Kitty reared the children, enabling them to live together as a family. “Most of them in time went to England with some returning.”
Mr Mackey, he said, had worked as a postman in Callan before moving to England in 1956 where he worked for a pharmaceutical company.
“There he would spend his life and would become immersed in the culture [and] integrated into society. He became a devout Arsenal fan and a loyal part of the Irish community there. Part of him will always be with us, even though there is a void, the memories of him will always be with us.”
In her eulogy, his sister Betty recalled how her brother had been well-known in Callan before his departure.
Pat, the eldest of Mr Mackey’s 22 nieces and nephews remembered “the perfect uncle” who “always had a twinkle in his eye, always smelling of lovely aftershave”.
“He was a new age man, many [women] had tried to get him to the altar but failed. One woman almost got him there, but John forgot his wallet on Christmas Eve at 4.55pm and the jewellers were closing,” she said.
She recalled spending time with him in Finsbury Park, trying to get him to eat Chinese food. “But, no, he had to have his fry with chips. We all remember such happy times, he was a one-off. We are so incredibly lucky to have had him as our uncle.”
Mr Mackey was one of 11 siblings and is survived by four. He was buried in Kilbride Cemetery.
A man has been arrested and charged with Mr Mackey’s murder and with robbery.
