POLITICIAN Willie O’Dea has locked swords with Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny Depp after the actor referred to his beloved Limerick as ‘Stab City’.

The Hollywood star made the slur in a foreword he penned for a book about his late friend Gerry Conlon — In the Name Of The Son: The Gerry Conlon Story — which tells the story of the late Guildford Four member.

3 Willie O'Dea has hit out at Depp's reference to Limerick Credit: PA:Press Association

Depp had been close to Conlon — who was wrongly convicted over the Guildford bombings in 1975 — after meeting him in the 1990s. In the book, Depp recalls a boozy Irish road trip in 1991, when the pair stopped off at a Limerick pub.

Speaking about his adventure with Conlon, who died in 2014, Depp, 54, wrote: “Our brief pit stop proved to be one of the most chaotic nights that I ever remember. Suffice to say we conquered Stab City.”

But Depp’s nickname for the Treaty city, which alludes to its reputation for violent crime, incensed Limerick TD O’Dea, 64.

The Fianna Fail man told the Irish Sun: “Johnny Depp is speaking from the depths of his ignorance here, talking as if Limerick is somewhere to be conquered.

3 Depp recalls a boozy Irish road trip in 1991 in a new book about Gerry Conlon Credit: Getty - Contributor

“People think twice about libelling an individual, but you seem to be able to get away with libelling a whole city of people.

“In all fairness I think the publishers should have taken this description out.”

But the former Minister has extended an invite to Johnny to return to Limerick once again. He said: “I’d love him to come to Limerick so I could show him the real city.

“I’m not sure what sort of pub Johnny was in before but this time we could visit the upmarket bars on the riverfront but only before I've shown him the massive foreign investment in IT at Plassey Park in Limerick, and a production at the Lime Tree Theatre."

3 Gerry Conlon was wrongly convicted over the Guildford bombings in 1975 Credit: Pacemaker Press

However, the TD said the city’s residents won’t let Depp’s remarks get to them.

Willie said: “Limerick people are used to taking these occasional insults but nothing stops the progress of Limerick — the jobs, the investment.

“In fact, there are young people here now who wouldn’t even know this Stab City reference Johnny Depp has used.”