McGahey said: "That's the 17th time you have asked that question and no matter how many times you ask it you will get the same answer" Finally, at 4am the reporter was assisted to bed. One evening during the coal strike in 1984/85 a journalist probed vainly for the quote he wanted. This did not mean, however, that he showed anyone any special favours and he had the gift of treating every scribe with an equal degree of contempt. Reporters of his acquaintance all admired him and he admitted to having a few "pet journalists" whom he actually liked.

In answer to the question: "What would you like in it?" he would respond: "Another wee Bells". When he left a conference room for church colleagues always knew which pub he was heading for.Industrial correspondents called an evening in his presence "an audience with Michael". In answer to the question: "What would you like to drink, Michael?" he would reply: "A wee Bells". He was also responsible for the introduction of Self Rescuers after the Michael Colliery disaster in Fife, a system which gave men vital minutes in a poison-free atmosphere to reach safety after an accident.A session in his presence usually got off to a good start. He welcomed the emergence of feminism but admitted that he did not do the washing up or cooking. "An acquisitive desire for cash reduces people to the nexus of cash. After all, you can only drive one car and eat sufficient food to keep you in good health."One of his best achievements was the provision of pithead baths and laundry services.

He had bitter memories of miners' wives staying up part of the night cleaning their mens' clothes. Although he had fought for better pay and conditions all his life he hated materialism and disliked those who had an obsession with money. His outstanding ability as a public speaker earned him a nickname he detested: "The Minister".He believed that people were not born to rule or to be ruled and said every human being was entitled to an opportunity to grow, mentally and physically. He was the typical class warrior but conceded that, as a union bureaucrat, he had to learn business acumen to handle miners' investments. By 1966 he was a full-time official and by then most men in the coalfield were aware of his oratory and authority.