Like a whole generation of young Irish men, John Mackey emigrated to the UK in the 1950s in search of work.
At 87 and living alone in north London, the Kilkenny man who never married was sociable, charming and always dapper in his trilby hat. He was beloved by his nieces and nephews.
On May 6th he headed to his local supermarket for some shopping and, as he’d increasingly stopped cooking for himself, a takeaway of chips and sausages.
On his way home he was set upon by Peter Augustine (59) who stole his shopping and food, and having beaten the frail man, left him for dead.
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Augustine’s two-week trial ended last week in the Old Bailey with a guilty verdict. He will be sentenced on November 28th.
For Irish Times London correspondent Mark Paul, Mackey’s murder had a particularly poignancy. He was one of a dwindling number of 1950s emigrants who left a very different Ireland to make their home in London.
Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.
