Limerick hurling fan dies of cancer on death row

A CONVICTED murderer who, through a strange quirk of fate, became a staunch Limerick hurling fan for nearly 20 years has died of cancer on death row in the state penitentiary in the US state of Georgia.

Jack Potts was sentenced to death in 1973 for kidnapping auto mechanic Michael Douglas Priest and killing him in a remote field. Potts had his head shaved no fewer than three times when he was prepared for the electric chair, but each time his sentence was commuted.

Potts had followed the fortunes of the Limerick hurlers from his cell in Jackson for nearly 20 years. He developed a love of hurling through correspondence with the family of Limerick hurling manager Richie Bennis.