He was born in
Cork, Ireland. His father was a minor canon of
St Fin Barre's Cathedral, Cork and a
curate of the parish attached to the
Anglican cathedral; his grandfather was
William Magee,
Archbishop of Dublin. Young Magee was educated at
Kilkenny College and entered
Trinity College, Dublin with a scholarship at thirteen. In November 1843, he delivered the inaugural address as Auditor of the reformed
College Historical Society, in Trinity College. He was ordained in 1844 to the curacy of St Thomas's, Dublin, but, being threatened with
tuberculosis, went after two years to
Málaga, Spain. On his return he took a curacy at
Bath, England (1849–1851) and was soon appointed to the
Octagon Chapel (1851–1860), where his fame both as preacher and platform speaker continued to spread. Some years afterwards he was made prebendary of
Wells Cathedral. In 1860, poor health caused him to accept the living of
Enniskillen, Ireland. In 1864 he was made
Dean of Cork and in 1866, additionally, Dean of the Chapel Royal, Dublin Castle, and a chaplain to the Lord Lieutenant. Here he showed those great gifts which ultimately raised him to high office; a powerful grasp of mental, moral and political problems, combined with eloquence of a high order, illuminated with brilliant flashes of wit. In 1868 the question of the
disestablishment of the
Irish church came to the fore, and Magee threw himself into its defence with his usual energy and vivacity. The success of his orations caused Prime Minister
Benjamin Disraeli to offer him the bishopric of
Peterborough, England. He justified his appointment by his magnificent speech when the Disestablishment Bill reached the
House of Lords in 1869, and then plunged into diocesan and general work in England. He preached three remarkable sermons on Christian Evidence in
Norwich Cathedral in 1871. He took up the
temperance question, and declared in the House of Lords that he would rather see "England free than England compulsorily sober", a statement which was misquoted and attacked. Initially highly critical of the calling of the second
Lambeth Conference (1878) he was won over by the experience, writing in his biography that, He was also a supporter of the movement for abolishing the recitation of the
Athanasian Creed in the public services of the Church of England, believing, as he said, that the "presence" of the damnatory clauses, "as they stand and where they stand, is a real peril to the Church and to Christianity itself", and that those clauses "are no essential part" of the creed. The project was laid aside because of the hostility of a large body of the clergy, reinforced by the threat of
Edward Bouverie Pusey and Canon
Henry Parry Liddon to abandon their offices if it were carried. He was elevated to the see of York in January 1891 and enthroned on 17 March. By this time his energies were exhausted, and he died on 5 May, four months after his appointment. He was buried at
Peterborough Cathedral. The life-size marble effigy marking his grave lies in the south aisle. ==Visitations==