James was born on April 25th, 1908 in Tipperary. James' father was Michael McGarry and his mother was Kate Heffernan. His paternal grandparents were William McGarry and <Unknown>; his maternal grandparents were William Heffernan and Mary St John. He had a brother and a sister, named Owen and Alice. He was the youngest of the three children. He died at the age of 86 on May 28th, 1994 in Florida.