Hero garda who tackled man with sword in Limerick court hangs up his hat
Red letter day for Tony Grey after 31 proud years in the force
A HERO garda who wrestled a sword from a young man in a packed Limerick courthouse has retired after 31 years of serving the people of the city and county.
With no thought for his own safety, Tony Grey, from Kanturk, County Cork, tackled the youth, disarmed him and prevented him from seriously injuring anyone with the full-length sword.
Reflecting on the incident which made local and national headlines at the time in 2009, Mr Grey said: “I saw him come into the court with the sword and I just jumped on him. I still have a vision of a senior counsel running with the fear of it all. It was chaos.”
A full-scale fight had erupted in the foyer of the court building in Merchant’s Quay in the city. It was the latest incident in a long-running dispute between two Traveller families.
Mr Grey joined An Garda Siochana in 1995, following in a proud tradition as his father and grandfather, both named Eddie Grey, were members of the force. There has been a Grey in the gardai since the foundation of the State.
Mr Grey’s first posting was Henry Street where he remained until 2001 when he was transferred to the old Bruff Garda District.
“I knew all the criminals coming out from town,” he recalled.
The Corkman started in Kilmallock before he went into the crime office in Bruff garda station in 2010. Mr Grey played a crucial role in the major investigations which solved a number of serious aggravated burglaries in east Limerick in 2012.
He remained working in the county ever since. Unusually, he spent all of his 31 years in the Limerick Garda Division.
Mr Grey said it is the “right time” to retire and looks forward to a new chapter in his life.
“I got great advice from a man one time. He told me the two best decisions in his life were joining the guards and retiring from the guards,” said Mr Grey.
His abiding memory won’t be wrestling men with swords or investigating serious crimes, it is the kindness of people.
“What I will take from my time in the guards is the gratitude that people gave me, for example, after a bad accident. People are kind and if you’re kind to people, people will be kind back and I got plenty of that,” concluded Mr Grey.
A retirement function was held in Dave Clarke’s Bar in Bruff where glowing tributes were paid to Mr Grey, including from Bruff-based Garda Inspector Gearóid Thompson who recalled their first meeting in the mid-1990s. Mr Grey was wearing a white karate uniform during self-defence training in Templemore.
“He did the exercise better than anyone. We struck up a friendship then which continued over the years. Tony’s knowledge of the criminal fraternity was second to none.
“If you needed to find out something fast then you need look no further than Tony. It is a unique skill that Tony had in abundance,” said Insp Thompson, who also spoke of the late Victor Walsh and Annette Courtney, who worked with Mr Grey in Bruff.
Away from the job, the garda inspector described Mr Grey as a social character and a popular member to be around.
“Tony was a very strong and effective contributor to our work and social life over many years. Nothing was ever a problem with Tony. We all wish him the very best in retirement,” concluded Insp Thompson.