Researching John Mackey

A five-time Pro Bowler, Mackey was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1992, the second pure tight end elected.

A vocal member of the Libertarian Party, Mackey is a strong supporter of free market economics. Mackey has criticized labor unions, and describes his views as "beyond union." He co-wrote the bestselling book Conscious Capitalism, which was released in 2013.

Born in Bray, County Wicklow in Ireland, he came at the age of six to New Zealand with his widowed mother to live with Father John O'Byrne, who was his mother's brother and parish priest of Epsom.

He received his secondary education at Sacred Heart College, Auckland and studied for the priesthood at New Zealand’s National Seminary, Holy Cross College, Mosgiel. He was ordained a priest on 23 November 1941 in Auckland, and received episcopal consecration in Rome from Pope Paul VI on 30 June 1974. Mackey was Bishop of Auckland from 1974 until his retirement due to a recurring health problem in 1983.

Previously he had been professor of church history at Holy Cross College and lecturer in church history at the University of Otago. He gained a doctorate in education and a master's degree in history and was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and a graduate scholarship to the University of Notre Dame (South Bend, Indiana), studying there for two years before returning to take up the appointment of director of education for the Auckland diocese. With the passage of the Private Schools Conditional Integration Act 1975, while he was Bishop of Auckland, Mackey played a key role in the integration of Catholic schools into the state system, developing a close working relationship with the Minister of Education, Merv Wellington.

Another event of his episcopate was the creation of the Diocese of Hamilton out of the area of the Auckland diocese located south of Auckland city.

In the 1983 New Year Honours, Mackey was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, for services to education.

In the earlier years of his retirement, Mackey was a guest lecturer in New Zealand and abroad and conducted occasional courses in Church History at Holy Cross College. He supervised the preparation of the new faith education programmes for Catholic secondary schools on behalf of the New Zealand bishops. He was the author of three books. Until shortly before his death, Mackey continued to write on a variety of subjects, including reviews and reflections for Catholic publications.

His obsequies occurred on 27 January 2014 at St Patrick's Cathedral, Auckland in which his remains were interred near those of one of his predecessors, George Lenihan OSB (1858–1910), fifth Catholic Bishop of Auckland (1896–1910), the only other bishop buried in the cathedral

Mackey is regarded as one of Limerick's all-time greatest players. He made his first appearance for the team as a substitute during the 1932 championship and was a regular member of the starting fifteen until his retirement after the 1948 championship. During that time he won three All-Ireland medals, five Munster medals and five National League medals. He ended up as an All-Ireland runner-up on two occasions.

At club level Mackey won a record-equaling fifteen county hurling championship and five county football championship medals with Ahane.

Mackey hailed from a hurling 'dynasty'. His father, John "Tyler" Mackey, was a former Limerick captain while his brothers, Mick and Paddy, also claimed All-Ireland honours.

Mackey made his first appearance for the team during the 1901 championship and was a regular member of the starting fifteen until his retirement after the 1917 championship. During that time he won two Munster medals, however, an All-Ireland medal eluded him.

At club level Mackey was a one-time county championship medalist with Castleconnell.

Mackey's two sons, Mick and John, Jnr., won several All-Ireland medals throughout the 1930s and 1940s.

Mackey was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly in 1902 for Gippsland West, and soon entered the ministry as a minister without portfolio in 1904. From 1906 he was Minister of Lands; he was also briefly Chief Secretary and Minister of Labour from 1906 to 1907 before taking up these roles again in 1908. From February to September 1908 he was Solicitor-General of Victoria. A Liberal and a member of the Nationalist Party's Economy faction, he was Speaker of the Assembly from 1917 to 1924. Knighted in 1921, he died at Nayook in 1924.