At his first press conference as England manager, Big Sam Allardyce reminded the UK sporting media that it all began at Limerick.

What we want to see is the England team being successful and for me that is the greatest challenge in my long career. Hopefully I'll be as successful as I have been at other clubs - and I started at Limerick, by the way.

Allardyce was invited to manage Limerick by then chairman Fr. Joe Young in the twilight of his playing career in the summer of 1991. During his one season there, he toured the pubs and businesses of Limerick, personally helping to raise money to ensure the team would have enough to compete the following week. Under Allardyce, Limerick ran away with the 1991-92 Second Division title.

The British press have thus taken an added interest in the place where Big Sam's managerial career got started. Sky Sports sent a reporter to Hogan Park, the former ground of the club.

While there, they interviewed some obvious candidates for an on-camera chat, including his old assistant boss Billy Kinnane, who has previously spoken to the Guardian about Allardyce's incredible impact in Limerick.

Unfortunately, as the Irish Independent have reported, they also interviewed one Anthony Kelly, a character who has been investigated by the gardaí on numerous occasions.

While Sky Sports have accorded him the title 'Limerick fan', past newspaper reports give him the rather more menacing nickname 'Hardman'.


Certainly, the 'Limerick fan' is a rather less Sunday World sounding sobriquet. Of course, Sky were not technically wrong in dubbing him the 'Limerick fan' but, as the Indo crime unit confirm, he has many more incidents in his past.

He has been acquitted of the most serious charges, having been found not guilty of killing brothers Thomas and Seamy McCarthy in 1982.

He has survived several attempts on his life and has admitted to having convictions for public order convictions, illegal tobacco, and the operating of a shebeen.

For what it's worth, he described Sam Allardyce as a 'great motivator'.

