OBITUARY: 'Mr Woodview' Kevin Magee mourned by Dundalk football community

A deep and wide outpouring of sympathy was evoked by the untimely death of Kevin Magee 3, Medebawn, Avenue Road on December 3 last at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda.

Aged 48,  Kevin, a quiet and private individual, had an unwavering passion for  soccer and it  was for his tireless  devotion and dedication to the local Woodview   junior and schoolboys  club  that  he was  known  far and  wide, earning the affectionate title of “Mr Woodview”.

The club of which he was a founder member and driving force was a key focus of his life after his wife and family and work and business. The three consumed  his time and  energy and  to which  he dedicated  himself with  a rare zeal and was undeterred despite  battling the  illness over the past  two years  that resulted in his  demise.

Kevin  hailed  from Hughes Park,  a  member of  a  well known family  synonymous  with  soccer in town, with his late  father Thomas (Bunny) a popular  referee  who started up  and managed  the schoolboy team Hill Street Blues.

Kevin derived his great  love of  the sport and  drew his inspiration from his  father playing with the team, and then  later to help form  what   became the  all conquering Woodview Celtic that  was established in 1990. The club first competed in the Dundalk Winter League, and  then  joined  the Meath  and District  League and   ended up  as  it's kingpins with a succession of   triumphs, including  completing the  league and cup  double after being  promoted  as champions  straight through from the third to the premier  division.

The  club which played   first in the Polo Ground  off the Castletown Road   had no  ground  and Kevin’s  van  was used to carry the playing kit and  for players in which  to change. The DKIT afforded the  team  the use of their  pitch, and the club rented other  grounds before acquiring  the  use of the Fairgreen  in 2016 which is now home to  the juvenile  wing. He filled different vital roles in the club, including chairman and secretary

Kevin also started an underage team, and now from having just one team, the club fields sides from under-6 to over-35.  By the way Kevin also latterly   managed simultaneously the over-35s as well as the under-11s.

The extent of his commitment is underlined   in that the day that he entered hospital for the last time he left a game to go there and wanted to know the score in his daughter’s match the day he passed away.

He wore his passion on his sleeve and the referee was never the flavour of the month with him, but once games were over all was forgotten.

Dundalk was another outlet for his passion for the game, and was a fervent supporter who was a lead chanter   in the “Shed” on match days at Oriel Park. He also was a   big follower of Liverpool, and one of Jack’s army who followed the national team far and wide, and attended the World Cup finals in Italy in 1990. In his younger days he also played Gaelic football for the Gaels club.

His early life saw him gain his formal education at the Friary National School and Saint Mary’s College. He was the only son and the youngest of the five children of Thomas and Mary Magee who had four daughters.

He started out his  working  life  in the  customs  clearance business in which he was also working prior to his  death with Portway Customs Clearance in Dublin,   with  whom he  also worked in  town  after  initially  taking up employment with McCanns Customs Clearance on the Newry Road.

He then went to work in the oil business with Morgan Fuels in the North before setting up his own home heating oil business 3COils. It was an achievement, of which he was very proud, and like sport applied the same customary vigour to his work.

However, his wife Carol and two  children, Calvin and Caoimhe  were the apple of his eye  and  they  were always  his  number one  priority, regardless of how  involved he  was in  his  work or sport.

Family life was all important to him, and he loved taking the children on holiday, spending a lot of time in Turkey and Florida on family breaks.

He was blessed with fine health to carry on his busy schedule which he still carried on despite receiving a disconcerting diagnosis two years ago and remained very active.

He is  very  sadly missed by his wife, Carol (née Taaffe), son,  Calvin, daughter Caoimhe, mother Mary (née Keenan), sisters, Moria, Patricia, Pauline and Helen, brothers and sisters-in-law, Shannon, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, cousins, extended family, relatives, neighbours and friends and throughout  the  local soccer   fraternity and  especially the Woodview club where his legacy and work  will remain a  lasting  and greatly  appreciated memory.

He was predeceased by his dad, Thomas and brother in-law, Alan Durnin.

After reposing at his residence on the Tuesday, Kevin  was  taken to The Church of The Holy Family the next morning with  the senior members of the Woodview  club  providing  a  Guard of Honour  along the  way, and the young  schoolboy  players forming   another Guard of Honour  as he entered the  church.

Father Jim O’Connell Adm   celebrated Mass, during which son Calvin gave the eulogy.

Kevin’s godchild, Shannon  and  two  children  Calvin and Caoimhe brought   a Woodview flag,  a  football, Liverpool jersey, cigarettes and  a family  photograph  to the  altar  as  symbols of his  life.

Sisters, Patricia and Moira took up the Offertory gifts.

The Readings were given by goddaughter, Shannon McLaughlin and nephew, David Murtagh.

The Prayers of the Faithful were led by daughter, Caoimhe, nephew, Alan Quigley, brother-in-laws, Alan McLoughlin and Anthony Taaffe, niece, Leanne Prescott and   god-daughter, Jade Taaffe.

The beautiful music was provided by organist, Olivia Finnegan and singer, Karen Jones.