MacKay was born in
County Tipperary as the second son and fifth child of John and Mary Elizabeth MacKay. As a child, he lived at the
Curragh Camp in
County Kildare in Ireland before moving to Oxmantown Road in
Dublin. When the
1916 Easter Uprising broke out, MacKay remained in Ireland where he was employed as a telegram boy for the General Post Office in Dublin. He began playing football and joined the
St James's Gate FC, where he was part of the team that won the League of Ireland in 1921 and 1922. MacKay was also a member of the Irish Free State football team that competed in the
1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. They beat Bulgaria 1–0 in Round 2 but lost out to the Netherlands in extra time in the Quarterfinals. The team finished fifth out of twelve teams. MacKay left Ireland with his wife Bea to live in
Colchester near to their daughter Elizabeth in the 1960s after he had retired as a superintendent with the General Post Office. He died there in September 1996 aged 99. ==References==