A journalist and barrister by profession, in the 1890s, McVeagh was based in London, where he was active in the Irish National League of Great Britain.[3]
In 1913 he presented the Jeremiah MacVeagh Cup to the Down County GAA Board. The Cup has been presented to the winners of the annual Down Senior Hurling Championship ever since.
He died in a Dublin nursing home in 1932,[7] following a series of heart attacks, and was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery.