Penn hoops' own luck of the Irish

College basketball coaches learn of potential recruits from a variety outlets, but the gym custodian isn’t usually one of them.

The case of freshman Keelan Cairns — a Belfast, Ireland, native who spent the last year at a basketball academy in London — is a bit different, though. Longtime Palestra custodian Dan Harrell, whose roots trace back to Ireland, found Cairns first and recommended him to coach Jerome Allen and assistant coach Mike Martin.

“He should [be credited],” Martin said. “If it wasn’t for Dan telling us about him, I can’t guarantee we would have found out about him.”

That a Division I coach would take the recommendation of a custodian so seriously may be a surprise at other programs, but not at Penn, where “Palestra Dan” has been a fixture and an inspiration to the team for 22 years.

When Harrell told the Penn coaches of Cairns, they knew he was worth a look.

Harrell and Cairns share a connection that dates back over a decade.

Harrell’s bartender friend, Tony Overend, manages Franklin Field, and in 1998, an Irish school called Saint Malachy’s came to the Penn Relays and won nearly every high-school distance event. That weekend was the first step in Harrell’s relationship with the all-boys Catholic school from Belfast, as Overend showed the runners around the Palestra.

In 2000, Harrell visited Malachy’s with the Penn Charter soccer team, which Overend coached. He met their orchestra director, Father Gerard Magee, in addition to Malachy’s basketball coaches Paul McCrory and Adrian Fulton.

In 2004, when Harrell’s niece was tragically killed in a car accident, Magee agreed to direct his orchestra at a benefit for Harrell’s niece in the United States. The relationship was solidified.

Malachy’s basketball team had a tradition of visiting New England every two years, but by then Harrell had the sway to convince the coaches to extend their trip to include Philadelphia.In 2006, they did just that, staying with families of Monsignor Bonner students outside Philadelphia.

Of course, the trip included a tour of the Palestra, and in 2008, Cairns took a visit. He was playing on the Under-16 team at the time, but when he came up on Harrell’s radar, Palestra Dan knew he had a future player on his hands.

“I wouldn’t have sent them after somebody I didn’t know was academically and athletically good enough to come here, and I think they took that seriously,” Harrell said.

Due to the timing ­— at this point it was February and the Quakers were knee-deep in Ivy play ­— and of course, the distance, Allen and Martin only watched games streamed online before Allen visited the United Kingdom solo.

By this point, they already knew they wanted Cairns’ teammate, Simeon Esprit, as well.

“He flew out [on a] Monday night, saw them on a Tuesday, and was back in Philly … in time for Wednesday [practice],” Martin said.

Cairns’ father visited him in Philadelphia last week, and Harrell said he called his son a “trailblazer” who has opened doors for Irish players to come to the United States.

While Harrell also said Cairns’ recruitment is “icing on the cake” to his long-winded fairytale-esque story with Saint Malachy’s, the best may be yet to come.

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