Joseph Thomas Magee (25 March 1870 – 18 May 1924) was an Irish

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

wing. Magee played club rugby for

Bective Rangers Bective Rangers Football Club is a rugby union club in Dublin, Ireland founded in 1881. The Club is affiliated to the Leinster Branch of the Irish Rugby Football Union and played in Division 1A of the Leinster League until the 2024-25 Season. H ...

and played international rugby for

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. He is often mistaken as being a member of the British Isles team that toured South Africa in 1896, a position actually taken by his brother James Magee.James Mary Magee
cricketeurope4.net

Rugby career

Magee came from a well known sporting family. Two of his younger brothers played sport to international standards.

Louis Magee Aloysius Mary "Louis" Magee (1 May 1874 – 4 April 1945) was an Irish people, Irish rugby union halfback. Magee played club rugby for Bective Rangers and London Irish and played international rugby for Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland ...

was also an international rugby player for Ireland, while another brother

James James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

played

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

for

. Both brothers also toured South Africa with the British Lions rugby team in 1896. Magee's brother-in-law, Tommy Little, played rugby for Ireland between 1898 and 1901.Godwin (1984), pg 44. Magee came to note playing club rugby for Bective Rangers. He gained his first international cap when he was selected to play for Ireland in the

1895 Home Nations Championship The 1895 Home Nations Championship was the thirteenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 5 January and 16 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Scotland won all their ...

. Played on home soil at Lansdowne Road, Magee started the match alongside his brother Louis, who was also collecting his first international cap. Louis scored the only points for Ireland, in a game they lost 6-3 to England. The brothers were both selected for the next game of the tournament, an away encounter to Scotland. Scotland won the game, and Magee never represented his country again; though Louis went on to win 27 caps and captained Ireland. After the end of his international playing career, Magee continued to serve rugby union in Ireland, by becoming a referee. He officiated four international matches, Wales against England and England vs Scotland in the

1897 Home Nations Championship The 1897 Home Nations Championship was the fifteenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Four matches were played between 9 January and 13 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Wales only completed one ...

, England versus Wales in

1898 Events January * January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queen ...

and finally England against Scotland in

1899 Events January * January 1 ** Spanish rule formally ends in Cuba with the cession of Spanish sovereignty to the U.S., concluding 400 years of the Spanish Empire in the Americas.''The American Monthly Review of Reviews'' (February 1899), p ...

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Magee, Joseph 1870 births 1924 deaths Rugby union players from Dublin (city) Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players Irish rugby union referees Bective Rangers players IRFU referees Six Nations Championship referees Rugby union wings