James Mackey (theologian)
James P. Mackey was a liberal Catholic theologian who held the Thomas Chalmers chair of theology at the University of Edinburgh from 1979 until his retiral in 1999. Early life, education and career James Patrick Mackey was born in County Waterford, Ireland on 9 February 1934, the eldest child of Peter Mackey and Esther Morrissey. He attended the Christian Brothers School in his home town of Dungarvan before completing his secondary education at the Cistercian College in Roscrea. He studied as an undergraduate at the National University of Ireland where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree with first class honours, before continuing his studies at St Patrick's College, Maynooth where he received his Licentiate in Philosophy, Bachelor of Divinity, Licentiate of Sacred Theology and Doctor of Divinity degrees. On completing his doctorate in divinity in 1960 he moved to Belfast to lecture in Theology at Queen's University Belfast. While working at Queen's he also completed a PhD in Philosophy under the supervision of Professor James Haire, his thesis being on the nature of evil as understood in modern philosophy and theology. He moved back to Waterford in 1966 to teach at St John's seminary and went on to work