Top Limerick garda is lucky GAA charm

COUNTIES striving to lift the Liam MacCarthy or Sam Maguire Cups are already planning for next year.

They are trying to find a top manager like John Kiely, the best coach like Paul Kinnerk, a brilliant strength and conditioning coach like Limerick’s Cairbre O'Caireallain and the doyenne of performance psychologists Caroline Currid.

But they could save themselves a lot of hassle and just poach the Chief Superintendent of the Limerick Garda Division, Derek Smart, as he guarantees All-Ireland glory. The Limerick city native has remarkably overseen five All-Ireland homecomings for four different counties!

The lucky streak started back in 2008 when the then Sgt Derek Smart was promoted to inspector and transferred in Kerry. The following year he was involved in organising the Tralee homecoming for the All-Ireland winning Kerry footballers.

Insp Smart was promoted to superintendent in 2012 and moved to Clonakilty. However, he wasn’t there long enough to work his magic for Cork.

Next up for Supt Smart was Ennistymon and then Ennis at the start of 2013. A few months later he was over the logistics of Clare’s first All-Ireland homecoming since 1997.

The top men in the Limerick County Board must have got onto Garda headquarters in Phoenix Park as Supt Smart was switched from Ennis to Henry Street in 2015.

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“I was here in 2018 when Limerick won it. I was at the final - it is 100% my favourite homecoming. Chief Supt Gerry Roche (a Galway man by coincidence) was walking in front of the bus and I was walking behind with the horses and bikes,” recalled Chief Supt Smart.

That homecoming took some organising as tens of thousands came out to follow the bus full of hurling heroes winding its way through the city to the Gaelic Grounds. The joyous occasion brought back memories for the top garda in the Limerick Division.

“I can remember the 1973 final when I was a small boy and my dad outside on the Dublin Road for the homecoming out by the Parkway,” said Chief Supt Smart.

Liam Sheedy must have had a word in the right ear as Supt Smart was bumped to chief superintendent of Tipperary in 2019 and guess what happened? The Premier County cantered home in the final against Kilkenny and Chief Supt Smart was organising another homecoming.

Limerick let Tipperary have him for 2020, 2021, 2022 as the homecomings were non-existent or smaller due to Covid so Chief Supt Smart’s expertise wasn’t required.

But he was transferred back last October to Limerick in plenty of time to organise the logistics of Monday night’s homecoming for the four in-a-row! Chief Supt Smart was up in Pery Square to ensure everything in the fifth homecoming he has been involved in went smoothly.

“It is a great change for us as well. It is a different dynamic doing these homecomings where people are so happy and it is great to be part of it,” said Chief Supt Smart.

He jokes that his friends in Clare want him to go back to the Banner County but Limerick won’t be letting Chief Supt Smart go anywhere anytime soon.

And especially while the drive for five is on!