A Belfast-born sailor and recipient of the Victoria Cross (1919 - 1986)

Magennis has had several memorials in his honour. Initial official recognition was only a photograph in the robing room of the Belfast city council chamber. The first memorial was erected in 1999 after a long campaign by his biographer George Fleming and Major S.H. Pollock CD (Canada). It, an elegant bronze and stone statue created by sculptor Elizabeth McLaughlin, was unveiled in Belfast on 8 October 1999. The ceremony was conducted in the grounds of Belfast City Hall in the presence of Magennis's son Paul, by the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Bob Stoker.

Magennis's former commanding officer, Ian Fraser, was reported as saying: "Jim gave me bother from time to time. He liked his tot of rum, but he was a lovely man and a fine diver. I have never met a braver man. It was a privilege to know him and it's wonderful to see Belfast honour him at last."[citation needed] A wall mural commemorating James Magennis on the 60th anniversary of VJ day was unveiled on 16 September 2005 by Peter Robinson, the Democratic Unionist Party Member of Parliament representing East Belfast, including Tullycarnet.

His portrait in oils was painted by Belfast artist Robert Taylor Carson who described Magennis as 'the perfect model - patient, attentive and completely natural.' The painting was purchased by Mr. Nevill McGeough Bond of the Argory, who then presented it to the Northern Ireland War Memorial Building Fund in 1946. The painting still hangs on display at the Northern Ireland War Memorial.