Irish Republic Poblacht na hÉireann (Saorstát Éireann)
Unrecognized state
← 1919–1922 →   →
Flag Flag (Proclamation)
Territory claimed by the Irish Republic
Capital	Dublin
Language(s)	Irish, English
Government	Republic
President of Dáil Éireann (to August 1921) President of the Irish Republic (from August 1921)
- 21 January 1919	Cathal Brugha[a] as President of Dáil Éireann
- Apr 1919 – Jan 1922	Éamon de Valera as President of the Republic
- Jan–Aug 1922	Arthur Griffith[b] as President of Dáil Éireann
- Aug–Dec 1922	W. T. Cosgrave[c] as President of the Republic
Legislature	Dáil Éireann
History
- Proclamation of     the Irish Republic	24 April 1916
- Declaration of     Independence	21 January 1919
- Adoption of     Anglo-Irish Treaty	7 January 1922
- Establishment of     the Irish Free State	6 December 1922
Area
- 1921	84,116 km2 (32,477 sq mi)
Population
- 1921 est.	4,400,000
Density	52.3 /km2  (135.5 /sq mi)
Currency	Pound sterling
Today part of	United Kingdom  Ireland
a: Cathal Brugha presided over the opening of the First Dáil, due to the absence of Éamon de Valera and Arthur Griffith. b: Simultaneously with Arthur Griffith becoming President of the Irish Republic (a title he eschewed in favour of the earlier title of President of Dáil Éireann), Michael Collins became Chairman of the Provisional Government of Southern Ireland, the provisional state created in the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty. c: W. T. Cosgrave was simultaneously President of the Republic and Chairman of the Provisional Government; he continued in his role of head of government of independent Ireland as President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State until 9 March 1932.

The Irish Republic (Irish: Poblacht na hÉireann or Saorstát Éireann) was a revolutionary state that declared its independence from Great Britain in January 1919.^[1] It established a legislature (Dáil Éireann), a government (Aireacht), a court system and a police force. At the same time, the Irish Volunteers, who came under the control of the Dáil and became known as the Irish Republican Army, fought against British armed forces in the Irish War of Independence.

The War of Independence ended with the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed on 6 December 1921 and narrowly approved by Dáil Éireann on 7 January 1922. A Provisional Government was set up under the terms of the treaty, but the Irish Republic nominally remained in existence until 6 December 1922, when Ireland became a self-governing British Dominion called the Irish Free State. The six counties of Northern Ireland exercised its right under the Treaty to opt out of the new dominion and rejoin the United Kingdom on 8 December 1922,^[2] leading to the Partition of Ireland, so that the Irish Free State consisted of only 26 of the island's 32 counties.^[3]

Name[link]

In English, the revolutionary state was to be known as the 'Irish Republic'. Two different Irish-language titles were used: Poblacht na hÉireann and Saorstát Éireann, based on two alternative Irish translations of the word republic. The word 'poblacht' was a new word, coined by the writers of the Easter Proclamation in 1916.^[4] Saorstát was a compound word based on the Irish words saor ("free") and stát ("state"). Its literal translation was "free state". The term Poblacht na hÉireann is the one used in the Proclamation of 1916, but the Declaration of Independence and other documents adopted in 1919 used Saorstát Éireann.

Saorstát Éireann was adopted as the official Irish title of the Irish Free State when it was established at the end of the Anglo-Irish War (however this Free State was not a republic but a form of constitutional monarchy within the British Empire). Since then, the word saorstát has fallen out of use as a translation of republic. After the Irish state had changed its name to "Ireland", in 1949 the description of the state was declared "Republic of Ireland", while in Irish it was translated as Poblacht na hÉireann.

In The Aftermath,^[5] Winston Churchill gives an account of the first meeting of Éamon de Valera with David Lloyd George on 14 July 1921, at which he was present. Lloyd George was a noted Welsh linguist and as such was interested in the literal meaning of 'Saorstát'. De Valera replied that it meant 'Free State'. Lloyd George asked '...what is your Irish word for Republic?' After some delay and no reply, Lloyd George commented: 'Must we not admit that the Celts never were Republicans and have no native word for such an idea?'

However, Lord Longford (though not actually present) gives a different account in Peace by Ordeal^[6]: "The only doubt in de Valera's mind, as he explained to Lloyd George, arose from the current dispute among Gaelic purists whether the idea Republic was better conveyed by the broader ‘Saorstát’ or the more abstract ‘Poblacht’."

Establishment[link]

In 1916 nationalist rebels participating in the Easter Rising issued the Proclamation of the Republic. By this declaration they claimed to establish an independent state called the "Irish Republic" and proclaimed that the leaders of the rebellion would serve as the "Provisional Government of the Irish Republic" until it became possible to elect a national parliament. The Easter Rising was short-lived, largely limited to Dublin and, at the time it occurred, enjoyed little support from the Irish general public.

The leaders of the Easter Rising had proclaimed a republic. Arthur Griffith's Sinn Féin organisation, which had favoured the establishment of a form of dual monarchy between Ireland and Britain, had not taken part in the Rising. In 1917, Griffith's Sinn Féin and republicans under Éamon de Valera, came together to form the new Sinn Féin Party. A compromise was reached at the 1917 Ard Fheis (party conference), where it was agreed that the party would pursue the establishment of an independent republic in the short-term, until the Irish people could be given the opportunity to decide on the form of government they preferred. This agreement was subject to the condition that if the people chose monarchy, no member of the British royal family would be invited to serve as monarch.

In the UK general election of 1918 candidates of the radical Sinn Féin party, including many who had participated in the 1916 rebellion, issued a Manifesto which included: Sinn Féin aims at securing the establishment of that Republic. It also said it would boycott the British Parliament and instead unilaterally establish a new Irish assembly in Dublin. Sinn Féin candidates won a large majority of seats, 73 out of 105, many uncontested. On 21 January 1919, 27 of them gathered in the Mansion House in Dublin to establish Dáil Éireann. Thirty-five other members were recorded as being fé ghlas ag Gallaibh (imprisoned by the foreign enemy) and another four as ar díbirt ag Gallaibh (deported by the foreign enemy). Thirty-seven other MPs were recorded as not being present (as láthair), these were mainly from the northern six counties that would later form Northern Ireland.^[7] At this meeting the Dáil adopted the Irish Declaration of Independence. Because of the Easter Proclamation of 1916, the Dáil retrospectively established the Irish Republic from Easter 1916.

On the same day as the Declaration of Independence was issued two members of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) escorting a cartload of gelignite were killed at Soloheadbeg, in Tipperary, by Dan Breen and Seán Treacy, members of the Irish Volunteers. This incident had not been ordered by the Dáil but the course of events soon drove the Dáil to recognise the Volunteers as the army of the Irish Republic, and so the Soloheadbeg incident became the opening incident of the undeclared Anglo-Irish War between the Volunteers and Great Britain. Breen later recalled: "Treacy had stated to me that the only way of starting a war was to kill someone, so we intended to kill some of the police.."^[8]

The decision to establish a republic in 1919, rather than any other form of government, was significant because it amounted to a complete repudiation of all constitutional ties with Great Britain, and set the party against any compromise that might involve initial self-government under the Home Rule Act 1914 or continued membership of the British Empire. The volatile question of the Unionists of the north-east having long indicated that they would never participate in any form of a republic was left unresolved, the six north-eastern counties remaining part of the United Kingdom under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, and later the Anglo-Irish Treaty.

Institutions of government[link]

Príomh Aire
Cathal Brugha (January–April 1919)
Éamon de Valera (1919–August 1921)
President of The Republic
Éamon de Valera (August 1921–1922)
President of Dáil Éireann
Arthur Griffith (January–August 1922)
W. T. Cosgrave (August–December 1922)
Office abolished December 1922

Dáil Éireann[link]

The central institution of the republic was Dáil Éireann, a unicameral assembly formed by the majority of Irish Members of Parliament elected in the 1918 general election. Two further general elections called by the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland,^[9] the head of the British administration in Dublin Castle, were treated by nationalists as elections to the Dáil. The Second Dáil comprised members returned in the 1921 elections for the Parliaments of Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland; the Third Dáil was elected in 1922 general election as the "provisional parliament" of "Southern Ireland", as provided for by the Anglo-Irish Treaty.

At its first meeting the Dáil adopted a brief, provisional constitution known as the Dáil Constitution, as well as a series of basic laws, notably the Democratic Programme. It also passed a Declaration of Independence.

Aireacht[link]

The Dáil Constitution vested executive authority in a cabinet called the "Aireacht" or "Ministry". The Aireacht was answerable to the Dáil which elected its head, known initially as the President of Dáil Éireann (Príomh Aire). He in turn appointed the ministers. According to the original version of the constitution enacted in January 1919, there were to be four ministers:

1. Minister of Finance (Aire Airgid)
2. Minister of Home Affairs (Aire Gnóthaí Duthchais)
3. Minister of Foreign Affairs (Aire Gnóthaí Coigcríoch)
4. Minister of National Defence (Aire Cosanta)

In April 1919, the ministry was increased in size to not more than nine ministers. In August 1921 it underwent a final overhaul linked to the creation of a head of state titled the President of the Republic. A ministry of six was created. These were:

1. Secretary of State for Finance
2. Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
3. Secretary of State for Home Affairs
4. Secretary of State for Defence
5. Secretary of State for Local Government
6. Secretary of State for Economic Affairs

A number of previous cabinet ministers, notably Constance Markievicz, were demoted to under-secretary level.

The Aireacht met as often as secrecy and safety allowed.

Head of State/Head of Government[link]

Initially, partly because of the division between republicans and monarchists, the Irish Republic had no head of state. The Republic's leader was known initially as the "Príomh Aire", literally "prime minister" but referred to in the English version of the constitution as "President of the Ministry". Later the English title President of Dáil Éireann also came to be used for the same post, especially during President de Valera's tour of the United States. On 26 August 1921, de Valera had the Dáil appoint him to the new post of "President of the Republic", so that he would be regarded as the head of state in the forthcoming Treaty negotiations. This was to assert the claim that the negotiations were between two sovereign states (Ireland's view), and not that it was between the British government and local politicians (Britain's view). After de Valera's resignation in January 1922, his successors Griffith and Cosgrave called themselves "President of Dáil Éireann".

Military[link]

The military branch of the Irish Republic were the Irish Volunteers who, in the course of the War of Independence, who were formally renamed the "Irish Republican Army" to reflect their status as the national army of the declared republic. Despite being theoretically under the command of the Dáil's Ministry, in practice individual IRA columns enjoyed a high level of autonomy, subject to H.Q. in Dublin. Arrangements were made in August 1920 for the volunteers to swear an oath of allegiance to the Dáil.

Judiciary and police[link]

The judicial arm of the Irish Republic consisted of a network of Dáil Courts administered by IRA officers, which at first operated in parallel with the British judicial system, and gradually came to supersede it as public opinion swung against the British in some parts of the island. British law allowed for the arbitration of disputes, provided the parties agreed to it, and as the Dáil Courts were initially described as arbitration panels it was impossible to outlaw them. In other cases the Dáil Courts proved more popular because of the speed and efficiency of their functioning, compared to the local Assize courts. They proved unable to deal with violent crimes but acquired a good reputation with farmers, particularly in dealing harshly with cases of cattle rustling.

The enforcement of law and the decrees of the Dáil Courts was vested in the Irish Republican Police.

Functionality[link]

The Irish Republic had some of the attributes of a functioning state; a ministry (with a head of state in the latter stages), a parliament, a courts system, a police force and a constitution. The extent to which these functioned fluctuated in different parts of the island, with the success or otherwise of republican institutions depended both on the degree of control of the IRA in the region and on the brutality of the Black and Tans and Auxiliaries, active from June 1920 to July 1921. The more brutal the 'Tans' the more they alienated the local populace from the Dublin Castle administration and Assize courts and the greater success the republican alternatives had. Some measures such as the Dáil Éireann Decree of 6 August 1920 prohibiting emigration without a permit^[10] were violently enforced.^[11]

At the height of the Irish War of Independence, as Tan atrocities reached such a scale as to result in the burning of the city of Cork (leading to widespread criticism in the United States and from King George V), the Republican Police and Dáil courts reached their zenith, and senior barristers who had qualified within the British courts system also represented defendants in the Dáil Courts. But even after the Truce of July 1921, when the Tans had stopped their activities, the continuing effectiveness of the Dáil courts and police was seen to be patchy. This was in part due to standing down the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) in early 1922 before a new police force was ready to operate; in the interim the Irish Republican Army (IRA), dividing within itself over the Treaty, was the only police force.

The main function of the Dáil courts was in resolving civil cases and very rarely dealt with criminal matters. The cabinet met frequently, though necessarily in secret, and dealt with everyday matters as well as the conduct of the war. The Dáil sat for 21 days before the Truce of July 1921, and more frequently after that.^[12]

Support for the Republic, though it ebbed and flowed constantly during the war, was strongest in the south of the country. The claim to authority of the Irish Republic was rejected in Unionist-dominated Northern Ireland and south County Dublin.

Recognition[link]

Efforts by President de Valera in the United States, and the republic's "ambassador" at the Versailles Peace Conference, Seán T. O'Kelly, to win international recognition failed. O'Kelly had already established the Republic's "embassy" in Paris in April 1919, and Dr. Patrick McCartan set one up in Washington, D.C. at the same time. Despite heavy lobbying from prominent Irish-Americans, President Woodrow Wilson refused to raise the Irish case at the conference as he did not want to antagonise the British. Finally in June "Ireland's demand for recognition" was conveyed to Georges Clemenceau, the Conference Chairman, without effect.^[13]

In June 1920 a "Draft Treaty between the new Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and the Republic of Ireland" was circulated in Dublin. E. H. Carr, the historian of early Bolshevism, considered that ".. the negotiations were not taken very seriously on either side."^[14]

The issue of recognition raises the question of how much the new Dáil, particularly de Valera, fully appreciated the developing relationship between the victorious powers following the war. Wilson had promised self-determination for nations and international norms were changing. Article V. of Wilson's 'Fourteen Points' outlined in January 1918 did not, however, promise that all colonies would be decolonised on demand at the end of the war, but that a colonial population's claim for arbitration would have "equal weight" with any claim by its government. In declaring independence unilaterally for the whole island, the new republic had denied "equal weight" to the wishes of Britain or the Irish loyalists. Having misunderstood or misread this part of Wilson's formula, the Dáil still required his support against his main ally.

The obvious problem was that the Irish Republic's Declaration of Independence of January 1919 was hostile to Britain, which was one of the four main powers arranging terms at Versailles. The RSFSR was also not invited to Versailles. Although armistices were holding, World War I was technically unfinished until the treaties ending it were signed, starting with Germany on 28 June 1919. The British view was that the 69 new Sinn Féin members of parliament had chosen not to take their seats at Westminster (to the relief of the Conservative Party), and that an Irish settlement would be arranged after the more important treaties with the former Central Powers had been signed off, involving Sinn Féin as the representatives of the majority, whether or not it had proclaimed a republic.

The Irish Republic was never recognised by the British government. Because its original contents were not seen as workable, the government under David Lloyd George abandoned plans to amend the Third Home Rule Act enacted in 1914, having called the Irish Convention in 1917–18. The British cabinet started in September 1919 to work from Walter Long's 1918 proposals, and in December 1920 they enacted the Government of Ireland Act 1920. This allowed for two home rule Irelands, partitioning Ireland into Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. Each Ireland was to have a two bicameral parliaments, with a shared chief executive, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and a Council of Ireland which was intended to be an embryonic all-Ireland single parliament. The proposal was greeted with mild enthusiasm among Irish Unionists in the new Northern Ireland, who had never sought their own home rule, but was rejected by a combination of Irish Republicans, Irish Nationalists and Irish Unionists who were not in Northern Ireland. While rejecting the right of the British parliament to legislate for Ireland, Sinn Féin took the opportunity of the two general elections in May 1921, one in the north and one in the south, to seek a renewed mandate for the Republic. No contests resulted in the south, with all seats returning the nominated Sinn Féin candidate. The new parliament in Belfast first sat on 7 June 1921, and while it did not formally recognise the Republic its premier, Sir James Craig, had secretly met with Éamon de Valera in Dublin in May 1921. This was a de facto recognition of de Valera's position, but also recognition by de Valera that Craig could not be ignored.

The Truce signed between representatives of the Dáil and Britain was agreed on 9 July 1921, to become effective from noon on 11 July.^[15] This marked the end of the Irish War of Independence. On 14 July 1921 Éamon de Valera met David Lloyd George in London for the first time to find some common ground for a settlement. He had been invited as: "the chosen leader of the great majority in Southern Ireland", but tried to extend this to a British recognition of the republic.^[16] In August, in preparation for the formalities, de Valera had the Dáil upgrade his status from prime minister to full President of the Republic. As a head of state he then accredited envoys plenipotentiary, an accreditation approved by the Dáil. This accreditation gave them the legal ability to sign a treaty without waiting for approval from the Republic's cabinet, some of whose members were among the envoys. However, the British view was that they were not envoys, and they recognised them only as elected members of parliament representing those Irish people who wanted independence in one form or another.

By September the British called for a conference with the envoys "to ascertain how the association of Ireland with the community of nations known as the British Empire can best be reconciled with Irish national aspirations". De Valera replied on 12 September "Our nation has formally declared its independence and recognises itself as a sovereign State." The same invitation was repeated and negotiations started on 11 October.

The Treaty[link]

Each side in the 1921 negotiations used sufficiently elastic language to enable the Republic's delegates to suggest that was taking place was inter-state negotiations, while allowing the British Government to suggest that it was an internal United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland matter. The Anglo-Irish Treaty, when signed on 6 December, was similarly put through three processes to satisfy both sides. It was:

• passed by Dáil Éireann, to satisfy the belief in the Republic's supporters that it was a state and its parliament was sovereign;
• passed by the United Kingdom, to satisfy British constitutional theory that a treaty had been negotiated between His Majesty's Government and His Majesty's subjects in Ireland;
• passed by the House of Commons of Southern Ireland, to reflect the belief in British constitutional law that Ireland already possessed a home rule parliament. In reality the House of Commons had the same membership (bar four) as the Dáil, though anti-Treaty members of the House stayed away.

Finally, the two structures of government (the British government's administration in Dublin Castle) and the Republic's began a process of convergence, to cover the year until the coming into force of the new Irish Free State.

Dissolution[link]

The Anglo-Irish Treaty.

By approving the Anglo-Irish Treaty on 7 January 1922 and the Constitution of the Irish Free State in October 1922 the Dáil agreed to the replacement of the Republic with the system of constitutional monarchy of the Irish Free State.

In January 1922 the Provisional Government of Southern Ireland came into being, but the Irish Republic was not dismantled; its institutions continued to operate in parallel with those of the provisional authority. Michael Collins was designated as Chairman of the Provisional Government, in theory answerable to the House of Commons of Southern Ireland and appointed by the Lord Lieutenant^[17] In contrast, the Republic's Aireacht continued with Arthur Griffith as President of the Republic following de Valera's resignation.^[18] However the two administrations were progressively merged until in August, following the deaths of both Griffith and Collins, W. T. Cosgrave assumed both leadership positions simultaneously and so the two most important offices effectively became one, producing a unique constitutional hybrid; a crown-appointed prime minister and a president of a republic. Both parliaments, the Second Dáil and the House of Commons, were replaced by a joint parliament known variously as the Third Dáil or the Provisional Parliament, elected on 16 June 1922. As a constituent assembly this enacted a new constitution with the passage of the Irish Free State Constitution Act.

On 6 December 1922, the Constitution of the Irish Free State came into effect and the institutions of both the Irish Republic and the Provisional Government ceased to be.

Legacy[link]

The goal of those who established the Irish Republic was to create an independent republic comprising the whole island of Ireland. They failed in this goal, but the Irish Republic paved the way for the creation of the Irish Free State, a Commonwealth dominion with self-government. By 1937, under a new constitution, the Free State became a fully independent republic with the self-designation 'Ireland'.

The Irish Republic in the post-Treaty Republican tradition[link]

Since the Civil War of 1922–1923 the Irish Republic has been an important symbol for radical republicans, amongst others. The Civil War began in June 1922 when both Sinn Féin and the IRA split between those pragmatists, who supported the Treaty, and those hardline republicans who opposed the compromises it contained. In particular the anti-Treaty faction objected to the continued role in the Irish constitution that would be granted to the British monarch under the Irish Free State. When the Dáil ratified the Treaty its opponents of the agreement walked out, arguing that the Dáil was attempting to 'destroy' the Irish Republic, and that its members had no right to do so. After the Irish electorate voted in a majority of pro-Treaty candidates to the Dáil, Éamon de Valera declared that "the people have no right to do wrong."

Opponents of the Treaty refused to recognise either the Provisional Government or, when it was established, the Irish Free State, insisting that the Irish Republic continued to exist as a de jure entity. Their line of authority included some TDs but also the Army Executive of the IRA which decided in early 1922 that it, and no longer the Dáil, was the only body loyal to the republic. In August 1920 it had sworn allegiance to both the Dáil and the republic, and felt that the Dáil had broken its oath when it voted to approve the Treaty. Arguments about abandoning the republic had, however, been very fully discussed during the Treaty Debates.

The anti-treaty faction also refused to recognise the Third Dáil, as the Second Dáil had not met to dissolve itself formally (though the "declaration of election" on 19 May, which gave dates for nominations and the election, was not opposed at the time^[19]). Anti-Treaty Republicans considered the Third Dáil, and all future institutions arising from it, as illegal. (See Second Dáil).

The anti-Treaty side was then defeated in the Civil War. Most militant opposition to the Free State came to an end on 24 May 1923 when Frank Aiken, chief-of-staff of the IRA issued the order to "dump arms" and Éamon de Valera issued his address to the "Legion of the Rearguard". Éamon de Valera continued as president of the Sinn Féin political party. In March 1926, Éamon de Valera, along with most anti-Treaty politicians, founded a new party called 'Fianna Fáil' and ended their boycott of the institutions of the Free State.

Nonetheless a hard-line minority continued to reject the legitimacy of the Free State and its successor, "Republic of Ireland". In 1938, a group calling itself the Executive Council of the Second Dáil delegated its self-declared authority to the IRA Army Council. The Irish Republican Army ultimately ceased military operations against Ireland in 1948 but continued to consider itself the legitimate government of all Ireland. The Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) split with the original IRA in December 1969 and afterward claimed that it was the sole legtimate representative of the Irish Republic. It based its claim, in part, on the support of Second Dail member Tom Maguire. The PIRA conducted a campaign of bombings and shootings in Northern Ireland from the late 1960s until 1998, and its political wing, the modern Sinn Féin party, used to insist that the Irish Republic was still legally in existence, with the Provisional IRA as its national army, and the IRA Army Council Ireland's sole legitimate government. This view are is still upheld by Republican Sinn Féin and the Continuity IRA. As of 2006, the Provisional IRA continue to use the title Oglaigh na hÉireann (lit. Volunteers of Ireland), the official Irish title for the Irish Defence Forces. Continuity IRA based their claims in part on the support they received from the last surviving anti-treaty Second Dáil member, Tom Maguire.^{[citation needed]}

Footnotes[link]

See also[link]

• History of Ireland (1801-1922)
• History of the Republic of Ireland
• Names of the Irish state

References[link]

• Tim Pat Coogan, Michael Collins (Hutchinson, 1990) ISBN 0-09-174106-8
• Tim Pat Coogan, Éamon de Valera (Hutchinson, 1993) ISBN 0-09-175030-X
• R.F. Foster, Modern Ireland 1600–1972
• Joseph Lee, The Modernisation of Irish Society
• F. S. L. Lyons, Ireland Since the Famine
• Lord Longford, Peace by Ordeal
• Dorothy Macardle, The Irish Republic
• Earl of Middleton, Ireland: Dupe or Heroine?
• Arthur Mitchell & Pádraig Ó Snodaigh, Irish Political Documents 1916–1949
• John A. Murphy, Ireland in the Twentieth Century

External links[link]

• Anglo-Irish Treaty Debates on-line

Roy Keane

Personal information
Full name	Roy Maurice Keane[1]
Date of birth	(1971-08-10) 10 August 1971 (age 40)[1]
Place of birth	Cork, Ireland
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1]
Playing position	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1989–1990	Cobh Ramblers	12	(1)
1990–1993	Nottingham Forest	114	(22)
1993–2005	Manchester United	326	(33)
2005–2006	Celtic	10	(1)
Total		462	(57)
National team
1991	Republic of Ireland U21	4	(0)
1991-2005	Republic of Ireland	67	(9)
Teams managed
2006–2008	Sunderland
2009–2011	Ipswich Town
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971) is an Irish former footballer and manager. In his 18-year playing career, he played for Cobh Ramblers, Nottingham Forest, and Manchester United, before ending his career at Celtic. Keane was a dominating central-midfielder, noted for his aggressive and highly competitive style of play, an attitude which helped him excel as captain of Manchester United from 1997 until his departure in 2005, having joined the club in 1993. Keane helped United achieve a sustained period of success in more than 12 years at the club. He then signed for Celtic but retired as a player less than a year later.

He played at international level for much of his career, representing the Republic of Ireland over a period of 14 years, most of which he spent as captain. He played in every Republic of Ireland game at the 1994 FIFA World Cup, although he was sent home from the 2002 World Cup after an incident with national coach Mick McCarthy.

He was appointed manager of Sunderland shortly after his retirement as a player, and took the club from 23rd position in the Football League Championship in late August to win the division title and gain promotion to the Premier League. Keane's arrival was cited as the catalyst for Sunderland's recovery.^[2] He managed to keep Sunderland from relegation in the 2007–08 season, but in his second season as a top-flight manager he left his position with Sunderland in the relegation zone.^[3] In April 2009, he was appointed as manager of Ipswich Town, but was sacked by the club in January 2011 with them 19th in the Championship.^[4]

Childhood and early career[link]

Keane was born into a working class family in the Mayfield suburb of Cork. His father, Maurice, took work wherever he could find, which led to jobs at a local knitwear company and a Murphy's Irish Stout brewery, amongst others. His family were keen on sport, football especially, and many of his relatives had played for junior clubs in Cork, including Rockmount A.F.C. Keane took up boxing at the age of nine and trained for a number of years, winning all of his four bouts in the novice league. During this period he was developing as a much more promising footballer at Rockmount, and his potential was highlighted when he was voted Player of the Year in his first season.

Keane supported Celtic and Tottenham Hotspur as a child, citing Liam Brady and Glenn Hoddle as his favourite players, but as time progressed, Manchester United's Bryan Robson became the footballer he most admired due to the all-action, box-to-box style for which 'Captain Marvel' had become famous.^[5]

Cobh Ramblers[link]

Despite his growing promise, a future career in football began to look uncertain. He was turned down from the Ireland schoolboys squad after a trial in Dublin; one explanation from former Ireland coach and scout Ronan Scally was that the 14-year-old Keane was "just too small" to make it at the required level.^[5] Undeterred, he began applying for trials with English clubs, but he was turned down by each one. As his childhood years passed, he took up temporary jobs involving manual work while waiting for a breakthrough in his football prospects. In 1989, he eventually signed for the semi-professional Irish club Cobh Ramblers after persuasion from Ramblers' youth team manager Eddie O'Rourke. Keane was one of two Ramblers representatives in the inaugural FAI/FAS scheme in Dublin, and it was through this initiative that he got his first taste of full-time training. His rapid progression into a promising footballer was reflected by the fact that he would regularly turn out for Ramblers' youth side as well as the actual first team, often playing twice in the same weekend as a result.

In the tough, physical world of the Irish First Division, Keane more than held his own against players much more experienced than himself, his dedication to training noticed by many. In an important FAI Youth Cup match against Belvedere FC of Dublin, Keane's performance attracted the attention of watching Nottingham Forest scout Noel McCabe, who asked him to travel over to England for a trial. Keane impressed Forest manager Brian Clough and his staff, and eventually a deal for Keane worth £47,000 was struck with Cobh Ramblers in the summer of 1990.^[6]

Club career[link]

Nottingham Forest[link]

Although delighted to have signed for a big club, Keane initially found life in Nottingham difficult due to the long periods away from his family, and he would often ask the club for a few days' home leave in order to return to Cork. Keane expressed his gratitude at Clough's generosity when considering his requests, as it helped him get through the tough early days at the club.^[5] Keane's first games at Forest came in the Under-21s team during a pre-season tournament in Holland. In the final against Haarlem, he scored the winning penalty in a shootout to decide the competition, and soon he was climbing the ranks at the club and playing regularly for the reserve team. His professional league debut came against Liverpool at the start of the 1990–91 season, and the resulting performance encouraged Clough to use him more and more as the season progressed.

He eventually scored his first professional goal against Sheffield United, and by 1991 he was a regular starter in the side, displacing the England international Steve Hodge. Keane scored three goals during a run to the 1991 FA Cup Final, which Forest ultimately lost to Tottenham Hotspur. In the third round, however, he made a costly error against Crystal Palace, gifting a goal to the opposition and allowing them to draw the game. On returning to the dressing room after the game, Clough punched Keane in the face in anger, knocking him to the floor.^[8] Despite this incident, Keane bore no hard feelings against his manager, later claiming that he sympathised with Clough due to the pressures of management^[9] and that he was too grateful to him for giving him his chance in English Football. A year later, Keane returned to Wembley with Forest for the League Cup final, but again finished on the losing side as his future club Manchester United gained a 1–0 win.

Keane was beginning to attract attention from the top clubs in the Premier League, and in 1992, Blackburn Rovers manager Kenny Dalglish spoke to Keane about the possibility of a move to the Lancashire club at the end of the season. With Forest struggling in the league and looking increasingly more likely to be relegated, Keane negotiated a new contract with a relegation escape clause. The lengthy negotiations had been much talked about in public, not least by Brian Clough, who described Keane as a "greedy child"^[5] due to the high wages demanded by the Irishman. "Keane is the hottest prospect in football right now, but he is not going to bankrupt this club," Clough stated. Forest fans, however, forgave Keane by voting him the club's Player of the Season due to his battling performances towards the end of the campaign. Despite his best efforts, Keane could not save Forest from relegation, and the clause in his contract became activated. Blackburn agreed a £4 million fee for Keane, who soon after agreed a contract with the club.

There had also been speculation that Keane would sign for Arsenal, who were looking for a younger midfielder as eventual replacement for Paul Davis.

However, on the day before the paperwork was due to be signed, Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson phoned Keane and asked whether he would like to join them instead of Blackburn. He was persuaded to cancel his agreement with Blackburn, and within two weeks he had signed for Manchester United for £3.75 million, a British transfer record at the time.^[10] In his autobiography, Keane revealed details of his conversation with a swearing and furious Kenny Dalglish, when he informed him the Blackburn signing was off.

Manchester United[link]

Early years[link]

Despite the huge transfer fee, there was no guarantee that Keane would go straight into the first team. Paul Ince and Bryan Robson had established a formidable partnership in the centre of midfield, having just inspired Manchester United to their first league title since 1967. Captain Bryan Robson, however, was now 36 years old and in the final stages of his playing career, and a series of injuries which had kept him out of action for most of the 1992–93 season continued into 1993–94. Keane took full advantage of his run in the team, scoring twice on his home debut in a 3–0 win against Sheffield United on 19 August 1993,^[11] and grabbing the winner in the Manchester derby three months later, on 7 November 1993, when United overturned a 2–0 deficit at Maine Road to beat Manchester City 3–2.^[12] He had soon established himself as a permanent fixture in Alex Ferguson's side, and by the end of the season, he had won his first trophy as a professional as United retained their Premier League title in May. Two weeks later, Keane broke his Wembley losing streak by helping United to a 4–0 victory over Chelsea in the FA Cup Final, sealing the club's first ever Double.^[13]

The following season was less successful, however, as United were beaten to the league title by Blackburn Rovers and beaten 1–0 in the FA Cup final by Everton.^[14][15] He received his first red card as a Manchester United player in a 2–0 win FA Cup semi-final replay against Crystal Palace, after stamping on Gareth Southgate,^[16] and, as punishment, was suspended for three matches^[17] and fined £5,000.^[18] This incident was the first of eleven red cards Keane would accumulate in his United career, and one of the first signs of his fiery temper leading to indiscipline on the field.

The summer of 1995 saw a period of change at United, with Ince leaving for Internazionale^[19] as well as striker Mark Hughes moving to Chelsea^[20] and Andrei Kanchelskis being sold to Everton.^[21] Younger players such as David Beckham, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes were brought into the team, which left Keane as the most experienced player in midfield. Despite a slow start to the 1995–96 campaign, United pegged back title challengers Newcastle United, who had built a commanding twelve-point championship lead by Christmas, to secure another Premier League title. Keane's second Double in three years was confirmed with a 1–0 win over bitter rivals Liverpool to win the FA Cup for a record ninth time.^[22]

The next season saw Keane in and out of the side due to a series of knee injuries and frequent suspensions. He picked up a costly yellow card in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final against Borussia Dortmund,^[23] which ruled him out of the return leg at Old Trafford.^[23] United lost both legs 1–0,^[24] but this was compensated for by winning another league title a few days later.^[25]

Captaincy[link]

After Eric Cantona's unexpected retirement, Keane took over as club captain, although he missed most of the 1997–98 season because of a cruciate ligament injury caused by an attempt to tackle Leeds United player Alf-Inge Håland in the ninth Premier League game of the season. As Keane lay prone on the ground, Håland stood over Keane, accusing the injured United captain of having tried to hurt him and of feigning injury to escape punishment; an allegation which would lead to an infamous dispute between the two players four years later. Keane did not return to competitive football that campaign. He watched from the sidelines as United squandered an eleven-point lead over Arsenal to miss out on the Premier League title. Many pundits cited Keane's absence as a crucial factor in the team's surrender of the league trophy.^[26] He initially expressed doubts as to whether he would play again due to the severity of his injury,^[5] but he recovered in time to begin pre-season training for the new campaign.

Any fears that Keane's injury may have reduced his effectiveness as a player were dispelled in the 1998–99 season, when he returned to captain the side to an unprecedented treble of the FA Premier League, FA Cup, and UEFA Champions League. One of his finest performances in this campaign was an inspirational display against Juventus in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final, when he helped haul his team back from two goals down to win 3–2. He scored from a header to start United's comeback and continually drove the team forwards at every opportunity. His performance in Turin has been described as his finest hour as a footballer.^[28][29] Earlier in the match, however, Keane had received a yellow card that ruled him out of the final after a trip on Zinedine Zidane. In the final, United defeated Bayern Munich 2–1 at Nou Camp, but Keane had mixed emotions about the victory due to his suspension. Recalling his thoughts before the game, Keane said: "Although I was putting a brave face on it, this was just about the worst experience I'd had in football." Later that year, Keane scored the only goal in the finals of the Intercontinental Cup, as United defeated Palmeiras.

Contract negotiations dominated the landscape during the summer after the treble, with Keane turning down United's initial £2 million-a-year offer amid rumours of a move to Italy.^[30] His higher demands were eventually met midway through the 1999–00 season, committing him to United until 2004. Keane was angered when club officials explained an increase in season ticket prices was a result of his improved contract and asked for an apology from the club.^[31] Days after the contract was signed, Keane celebrated by scoring the winning goal against Valencia in the Champions League, although United's interest in the competition was ended by Real Madrid in the quarter-finals, partly due to an unfortunate Keane own-goal in the second leg. He was voted PFA Players' Player of the Year and Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year at the end of the season after leading United to their sixth Premier League title in eight years.

Keane caused controversy in December 2000, when he criticised sections of United supporters after the Champions League victory over Dynamo Kiev at Old Trafford. He complained about the lack of vocal support given by some fans when Kiev were dominating the game, stating: "Away from home our fans are fantastic, I'd call them the hardcore fans. But at home they have a few drinks and probably the prawn sandwiches, and they don't realise what's going on out on the pitch. I don't think some of the people who come to Old Trafford can spell 'football', never mind understand it."^[31] Keane's rant started a debate in England about the changing atmosphere in football grounds,^[32] and the term 'prawn sandwich brigade' is now part of the English football vocabulary, referring to people who attend football games or claim to be fans of football because it is fashionable rather than due to any genuine interest in the game.

He made headlines again in the 2001 Manchester derby, a game in which Alf-Inge Håland played. Five minutes from the final whistle, he was sent off for a blatant knee-high foul on the Norwegian in what was seen by many as an act of revenge.^[33] He initially received a three game suspension and a £5,000 fine from the FA, but further punishment was to follow after the release of Keane's autobiography in August 2002, in which he stated that he intended "to hurt" Håland. Keane's account of the incident was as follows:

I'd waited long enough. I fucking hit him hard. The ball was there (I think). Take that you cunt. And don't ever stand over me sneering about fake injuries.^[34]

An admission that the tackle was in fact a premeditated assault, it left the FA with no choice but to charge Keane with bringing the game into disrepute.^[35] He was banned for a further five matches and fined £150,000 in the ensuing investigation. Despite widespread condemnation,^[36] he later maintained in his autobiography that he had no regrets about the incident: "My attitude was, fuck him. What goes around comes around. He got his just rewards. He fucked me over and my attitude is an eye for an eye."^[34]

United finished the 2001–02 season trophyless for the first time in four years. Domestically, they were eliminated from the FA Cup by Middlesbrough in the fourth round and finished third in the Premier League, their lowest final position in the league since 1991. Progress was made in Europe, however, as United reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League, their furthest advance since their successful campaign of 1999. They were eventually knocked out on away goals after a 3–3 aggregate draw with Bayer Leverkusen, despite Keane putting United 3–2 up, and after the defeat, Keane blamed United's loss of form on some of his team-mates' fixation with wealth, claiming that they had "forgot about the game, lost the hunger that got you the Rolex, the cars, the mansion."^[5] Earlier in the season, Keane had publicly advocated the breakup of the Treble-winning team^[37] as he believed the team-mates who had played in United's victorious 1999 Champions League final no longer had the motivation to work as hard.^[38]

In August 2002 he was fined £150,000 by Ferguson and suspended for three matches for elbowing Sunderland's Jason McAteer, and this was compounded by an added five-match suspension for the controversial comments about Haaland. Keane used the break to undergo an operation on his hip, which had caused him to take painkillers for a year beforehand. Despite early fears that the injury was career-threatening,^[39] and suggestions of a future hip-replacement from his surgeon,^[40] he was back in the United team by December.

During his period of rest after the operation, Keane reflected on the cause of his frequent injuries and suspensions. He decided that the cause of these problems was his reckless challenges and angry outbursts which had increasingly blighted his career.^[5] As a result, he became more restrained on the field, and tended to avoid the disputes and confrontations with other players. Some observers felt that the "new" Roy Keane had become less influential in midfield as a consequence of the change in his style of play, possibly brought about by decreased mobility after his hip operation. However, after his return, Keane displayed the tenacity of old,^[39] leading the team to another league title in May 2003.

Throughout the 2000s (decade), Keane maintained a fierce rivalry with Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira. The most notable incident between the two took place at Highbury in 2005 at the height of an extreme period of bad blood between United and Arsenal. Vieira was seen confronting United defender Gary Neville in the tunnel before the game over his fouling of José Antonio Reyes in the previous encounter between the two sides,^[41] prompting Keane to verbally confront the Arsenal captain.^[37] The incident was broadcast live on Sky Sports, with Keane clearly heard telling match referee Graham Poll to "Tell him [Vieira] to shut his fucking mouth!" After the game, which United won 4–2, Keane controversially criticised Vieira's decision to play internationally for France instead of his birthplace of Senegal. However, Vieira later suggested that having walked out on his National team in the World Cup finals Keane was not in a good position to comment on such matters.^[42] Referee Poll later revealed that he should have sent off both players before the match had begun, though was under pressure not to do so.^[41]

Overall, Keane would lead United to 9 major honours, making him the most successful captain in the club's history. Keane scored his 50th goal for Manchester United on 5 February 2005 in a league game against Birmingham City. His appearance in the 2005 FA Cup final, which United lost to Arsenal in a penalty shootout, was his seventh such game, an all-time record in English football at the time.^[43] Keane also jointly holds the record for the most red cards received in English football, being dismissed a total of 13 times in his career. He was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2004 in recognition of his undoubted impact on the English game, and became the only Irish player to be selected into the FIFA 100, a list of the greatest living footballers picked by Pelé.

Departure[link]

Keane unexpectedly left Manchester United by mutual consent on 18 November 2005,^[44] during a protracted absence from the team due to an injury sustained in his last competitive game for the club,^[45] due to a robust challenge from Luis García against Liverpool. His departure marked the climax of increasing tensions between Keane and the United management and players since the club's pre-season training camp in Portugal, when he argued with Ferguson over the quality of the set-up at the resort.^[46] Ferguson was angered further by Keane's admission during an MUTV phone-in that he would be "prepared to play elsewhere"^[47] after the expiration of his current contract with United at the end of the season.

Another of Keane's appearances on MUTV provoked more controversy, when, after a humiliating 4–1 defeat at the hands of Middlesbrough in early November, he took the opportunity to criticise the performances of John O'Shea, Alan Smith, Kieran Richardson and Darren Fletcher.^[49] The harshest analysis, however, was reserved for the club's record signing Rio Ferdinand: "Just because you are paid £120,000-a-week and play well for 20 minutes against Tottenham, you think you are a superstar."^[50] The outburst was deemed too damning by the United management and was subsequently pulled from transmission by the club's TV station. Keane's opinions were described by those present at the interview as "explosive even by his standards".^[49]

Keane had scored 33 league goals for Manchester United, and a total of 50 in all competitions.^[51] The first two of his goals for the club came in the 3-0 home win over Sheffield United in the Premier League on 18 August 1993,^[52] the last on 12 March 2005 in a 4-0 away win over Southampton in the FA Cup.^[53]

Two weeks later, after another row with Ferguson, Keane reached an agreement with Manchester United allowing him to leave the club immediately in order to sign a long-term deal with another club.^[50] He was offered a testimonial in recognition of his twelve and a half years at Old Trafford, with both Ferguson and United Chief Executive David Gill wishing him well for the future.^[50] On 15 December 2005, Keane was announced as a Celtic player, the team he had supported as a child, after agreeing to a contract in the region of £40,000 per week.^[54]

It was later revealed by United that Keane's testimonial would take place at Old Trafford on 9 May 2006 between United and Celtic. The home side won the game 1–0, with Keane playing the first half for Celtic and the second half in his former role as Manchester United captain.^[55] The capacity crowd of 69,591 remains the largest crowd ever for a testimonial match in England.^[56] All of the revenue generated from the match was given to Keane's favourite charity, the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association.

Celtic[link]

Keane's Celtic career began in ignominious fashion in January 2006, when the Glasgow giants crashed to a 2–1 defeat to Scottish First Division side Clyde in the third round of the Scottish Cup. His abrasive style had clearly not dwindled since his arrival, as he was seen criticising some of his new team-mates during the match.^[57] Keane scored what turned out to be his only Celtic goal a month later in a 2–1 Scottish Premier League victory over Falkirk.^[58] He retained his place the following Sunday in his first Old Firm derby, leading Celtic to victory in a typically combative Man of the Match performance. Celtic went on to complete a double of the Scottish Premier League title and Scottish League Cup, his last honour as a player.

On 12 June 2006, Keane announced his retirement from professional football on medical advice,^[59] only six months after joining Celtic. His announcement prompted glowing praise from many of his former colleagues and managers, not least from Sir Alex Ferguson, who opined: "Over the years when they start picking the best teams of all time, he will be in there."^[59]

International career[link]

Keane was part of the squad that participated in the 1988 UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship although he didn't play [3]. When called up for his first game at international level, an Under-21s match against Turkey in 1991, Keane took an immediate dislike to the organisation and preparation surrounding the Irish team, later describing the set-up as "a bit of a joke."^[5] He would continue to hold this view throughout the remainder of his time spent with the national team, which led to numerous confrontations with the Irish management. Keane declared his unavailability to travel with the Irish squad to Algeria, but was surprised when manager Jack Charlton told him that he would never play for Ireland again if he refused to join up with his compatriots.^[5] Despite this threat, Keane chose to stay at home on the insistence of Forest manager Brian Clough, and was pleased when a year later he was called up to the Irish squad for a friendly at Lansdowne Road. After more appearances, he grew to disapprove of Charlton's style of football, which relied less on the players' skill and more on continuous pressing and direct play. Tensions between the two men peaked during a pre-season tournament in the United States, when Charlton berated Keane for returning home late after a drinking session with Steve Staunton.^[5]

Keane was included in Ireland's squad for the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the USA and played in every game, including a famous 1–0 victory over tournament favourites and eventual runners-up, Italy. Despite a second-round exit at the hands of the Netherlands, the tournament was considered a success for the Irish team, and Keane was named the best player of Ireland's campaign. Keane, however, was reluctant to join the post-tournament celebrations, later claiming that, as far as he was concerned, Ireland's World Cup was a disappointment: "There was nothing to celebrate. We achieved little."^[5]

Keane missed crucial matches during the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification matches due to a severe knee injury, but came back to captain the team to within a whisker of qualifying for UEFA Euro 2000, losing to Turkey in a play-off. Ireland secured qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup under new manager Mick McCarthy, greatly assisted by a number of match-winning performances from Keane. In the process of qualification, Ireland went undefeated, both home and away, against international football heavyweights Portugal and the Netherlands, famously beating the latter 1–0 at Lansdowne Road.

2002 FIFA World Cup incident[link]

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) selected the training base intended for use during Ireland's World Cup campaign. During the course of the first training session, Keane expressed serious misgivings about the adequacy of the training facilities and the standard of preparation for the Irish team. He was angered by the late arrival of the squad's training equipment, which had disrupted the first training session on a pitch that he described as "like a car park".^[60]

After a row with goalkeeping coach Packie Bonner and Alan Kelly on the second day of training, Keane announced that he was quitting the squad and that he wished to return home to Manchester due to his dissatisfaction with Ireland's preparation. The FAI were unable to get Keane an immediate flight home at such short notice, meaning that he remained in Saipan for another night, but they called up Colin Healy as a replacement for him. The following day, however, McCarthy approached Keane and asked him to return to the training camp, and Keane was eventually persuaded to stay.

Despite a temporary cooling of tensions in the Irish camp after Keane's change of heart, things soon took a turn for the worse. Keane immediately gave an interview to leading sports journalist Tom Humphries, of the Irish Times newspaper, where he expressed his unhappiness with the facilities in Saipan and listed the events and concerns which had led him to leave the team temporarily. McCarthy took offence at Keane's interview and decided to confront Keane over the article in front of the entire squad and coaching staff. Keane refused to relent, saying that he had told the newspaper what he considered to be the truth and that the Irish fans deserved to know what was going on inside the camp.^[5] He then unleashed a stinging verbal tirade against McCarthy: “Mick, you're a liar... you're a fucking wanker. I didn't rate you as a player, I don't rate you as a manager, and I don't rate you as a person. You're a fucking wanker and you can stick your World Cup up your arse. The only reason I have any dealings with you is that somehow you are the manager of my country! You can stick it up your bollocks.”^[31][61] Niall Quinn observed in his autobiography that “Roy Keane's 10-minute oration [against Mick McCarthy, above] ... was clinical, fierce, earth-shattering to the person on the end of it and it ultimately caused a huge controversy in Irish society.” But at the same time, he was also critical of Keane's stance, saying that "[He] left us in Saipan, not the other way round. And he punished himself more than any of us by not coming back."^[62]

None of Keane's team-mates voiced support for him during the meeting, although some supported him in private afterwards. Veterans Niall Quinn and Steve Staunton backed McCarthy in a press conference after the event. It was here that McCarthy announced that he had dismissed Keane from the squad and sent him home.^[63][64] By this time, the FIFA deadline for naming the World Cup squads had passed, meaning that Colin Healy was unable to be named as Keane's replacement and could not play in the tournament.

Recall[link]

Mick McCarthy resigned as Ireland manager in November 2002 after defeats to Russia and Switzerland in qualification for Euro 2004. The possibility of Keane returning to the squad for future qualifiers was raised, as Keane had not yet fully retired from international football, insisting that McCarthy's presence was the main incentive for staying away from the Irish squad.^[65] McCarthy's replacement, Brian Kerr, discussed with Keane the possibility of a recall, and in April 2004 he was brought back into the Irish team to face Romania. Keane was not reinstated as captain, however, as Kerr decided to keep the armband with Kenny Cunningham. After the team's failure to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he announced his retirement from international football in order to help prolong his club career.^[66]

Post-retirement[link]

Keane has reiterated his displeasure with the attitude and selection policy of the FAI. In March 2007 Keane claimed that several Republic of Ireland players get picked solely on the basis of their media exposure and that the organisation was biased towards players originating from Dublin or other regions of Leinster: "Once you keep playing them on the reputation they've built up through the media or because they do lots of interviews, then it's wrong. There's a fine line between loyalty and stupidity."^[67] Keane claimed that Sunderland player Liam Miller was not picked because he was from Cork and that players with significant potential were failing to get picked for the national team. He also alleged that the FAI were incompetent in the running of their affairs. Keane was involved in further controversy in the wake of Ireland's defeat by France in the World Cup 2010 play-off. During an Ipswich Town press conference on 20 November 2009, Keane was critical of the Irish reaction to the Henry handball incident. His response included criticisms of the Irish team's defence and the FAI authorities.

Managerial career[link]

His former manager Sir Alex Ferguson had previously said that he wanted Keane to succeed him as Manchester United coach when he retired. However, in the wake of Keane's acrimonious departure from the club, Ferguson became evasive regarding Keane's prospects as a manager: "Young managers come along and people say this one will be England manager or boss of this club, but two years later they're not there. It's not an easy environment to come into, I wouldn't forecast anything."^[68]

Sunderland[link]

During his time at Celtic, Keane was suggested as a potential managerial successor to Gordon Strachan by former Celtic player Charlie Nicholas.^[69] However, it was Championship club Sunderland where Keane chose to launch his managerial career, re-uniting him with the club's chairman and outgoing manager, Niall Quinn. The two men, publicly at least, were on opposing sides during the fall-out from the Saipan incident, but they were on good terms at the time of the managerial appointment, with Quinn urging Sunderland fans to "support and enjoy one of football’s true greats".^[70]

Keane signed a three-year deal immediately after Sunderland's victory over West Bromwich Albion on 28 August, the Mackems' first win of the 2006–07 season after a dreadful run of four consecutive defeats under Quinn's temporary management. With his new club sitting in the relegation zone already, second bottom of the Championship table, Keane chose to enforce changes quickly. His first actions as manager were deciding to keep the existing assistant manager, Bobby Saxton, and to appoint his former Nottingham Forest colleague Tony Loughlan as head coach. He wasted no time in bringing in new additions to the squad, with a total of six players signing on the final day of the August transfer window. The most notable signings were Keane's former Manchester United team-mates Dwight Yorke^[71] and Liam Miller,^[72] supported by former Celtic colleagues Ross Wallace and Stanislav Varga, ^[73] as well as Wigan Athletic pair Graham Kavanagh and David Connolly.^[74]

Keane's first two games as manager could not have gone much better; first coming from behind to beat Derby County 2–1, followed by an easy 3–0 victory over Leeds United. Sunderland began to steadily creep up the league standings under Keane's management, and by the turn of the year they had escaped the bottom half of the league. Five further players were signed during the January 2007 transfer window, three (Anthony Stokes, Carlos Edwards and Stern John) on permanent contracts and two (Jonny Evans and Danny Simpson) on loan from Manchester United, Keane's old club. Results continued to improve, and Keane was rewarded with the February and March "Manager of the Month" awards,^[75] while his team began to challenge for the automatic promotion places. Meanwhile, Keane tackled his players' non-professional approach with a firm hand. When three players were late for the team coach to a trip to Barnsley, in March 2007, he simply left them behind.

Sunderland secured promotion to the Premier League along with Birmingham City on 29 April when rivals Derby County were beaten by Crystal Palace.^[76] A week later, the Coca-Cola Championship title was sealed, and Sunderland's revival under Keane was complete. His achievements also earned him the Championship "Manager of the Year" award.^[77]

The lowest point of their next season came at Goodison Park, where they were beaten 7–1 by Everton, which Keane described as "one of the lowest points" of his career. However in the second half of the season the team's form was much improved (especially at home) and survival in the division was guaranteed with two games to go with a home win against Middlesbrough. Meanwhile, Keane carried on his trend of buying ex-Manchester United players with the addition of Kieran Richardson, Paul McShane, Danny Higginbotham, and Phil Bardsley. He has also continued his strict disciplinary policy by putting Liam Miller (one of Sunderland's apparently more consistent players) on the transfer list for being regularly late for training and other team meetings.

The beginning of the 2008–09 season would prove to be tumultuous. In September 2008 Keane became embroiled in a row with FIFA Vice President Jack Warner over the withdrawal of Dwight Yorke from the Trinidad and Tobago national team. Warner accused Keane of being disrespectful towards small countries.^[78] Keane responded by calling Warner "a clown" and insisted that Yorke was retired from international football.^[79] That same month Keane experienced "one of the worst and longest nights" of his career when Sunderland had to come from 2–0 down at home in a League Cup tie against Northampton. The game ended 2–2, with Sunderland progressing narrowly on penalties.^[80]

Despite some positive performances, including the historic 2–1 home victory against local rivals Newcastle United on 25 October (the first time the club had accomplished this in 28 years),^[81] as well as good showings by recent signings like Djibril Cissé and Anton Ferdinand, the team's general form remained inconsistent. By the end of November, Sunderland were 18th in the Premier League, having lost five of their six previous games. Keane stood down as manager on 4 December after bringing doubt on his own future with comments made in the wake of the 4–1 home defeat by Bolton the previous weekend.^[82]

In an interview with The Irish Times on 21 February 2009, Keane cited differences with Sunderland 30% shareholder Ellis Short and strains with club chairman Niall Quinn as the factors in his decision to resign as Sunderland manager.^[83]

Ipswich Town[link]

On 23 April 2009, Keane was appointed as the new manager of Ipswich Town on a two-year contract,^[84] the day after the club had sacked Jim Magilton.^[84] His first game in charge came the following Saturday with a 3–0 away win over Cardiff City – the final league match to be played at Ninian Park.^[85] The following week, Ipswich rounded off the season with a 2–1 win over Coventry.^[86] In the 2009–10 season Keane started to sign some players, some of them from his former club Sunderland. He signed goalkeeper Marton Fulop, midfielders Carlos Edwards and Grant Leadbitter and brought in Jack Colback, David Healy and Daryl Murphy on loan to the club. Ipswich started without a win in their first fourteen matches, making them the last team to record their first win in the whole league, finally winning on 31 October against Derby County and recording their first away win of the season on 29 November against Cardiff City. Their form gradually improved throughout the season, but Ipswich drew far too many games to come anywhere near the promotion race and they finished the season in 15th place.^[87] Many inconsistencies in the 2009/10 and the 2010/11 season meant that Keane's Ipswich side never really challenged for promotions and as a result of a poor run of form, ending up with his side dropping to as low as 21st in the Championship. Keane was sacked as Ipswich manager on 7 January 2011.^[4]

Media work[link]

Keane has done media work but expressed his lack of enthusiasm to do so again in future when he said, "I was asked last week by ITV to do the Celtic game," he said. "A couple of weeks before that I was asked to do the United game against Celtic at Old Trafford. I think I've done it once for Sky. Never again. I'd rather go to the dentist. You're sitting there with people like Richard Keys and they're trying to sell something that's not there." Keane added, "Any time I watch a game on television I have to turn the commentators off."

Later, Roy had a change of heart. Keane along with Harry Redknapp and Gareth Southgate were pundits for ITV's coverage of the Champions League final between Manchester United and Barcelona.^[88]

Personal life[link]

Keane is married to Theresa Doyle, and they have five children: Shannon, Caragh, Aidan, Leah and Alanna. The couple met when she was a dentist's assistant and he was playing for Nottingham Forest in 1992. They married in Mayfield, Cork in 1997.^[89]

When Keane moved to Manchester United, the family lived in a modern four-bedroom house in Bowdon, then moved to a mock Tudor mansion in Hale. It was not as private as he had hoped, a point proven during his exclusion from the 2002 World Cup. Often seen walking Triggs (his Labrador dog), Keane was then a regular at the Bleeding Wolf pub, and was found there by reporters on the night of David Beckham's wedding. When asked why he hadn't gone, Keane joked: "It was a choice between the wedding and the Wolf – and the Wolf won."^[90]

Wanting more privacy, his family had a 1930s home bulldozed so they could build a new £2.5 million house near Hale.^[91]

On 6 June 2009, it was announced that Keane and his family had purchased a new house in the Ipswich area, near to the training ground of Keane's new club, Ipswich. He eventually settled in the nearby market town of Woodbridge where he now lives with his family.^[92]

[edit] Dog

Keane had a Labrador Retriever named Triggs, who died in 2010. Triggs came to international attention in 2002 during an incident ahead of the that year's FIFA World Cup when Keane engaged in a public quarrel and left the squad. Triggs accompanied Keane on regular walks pursued by the press.^[93] The footballer said of Triggs, "Unlike humans, dogs don't talk shit".^[94] The Daily Telegraph's Steve Wilson once described Triggs as "the most famous dog in football since Pickles, a mongrel who dug up the stolen Jules Rimet Trophy in 1966, or that dog that relieved itself on Jimmy Greaves at the 1962 World Cup".^[95] Henry Winter, writing in the same paper, called Triggs "the fittest dog in Cheshire" and opined that "if Cruft's [sic] held an endurance event, Keane and Triggs would scoop gold".^[96]

Following his rise to fame Triggs was mentioned by several sources on many occasions, with Keane dogged by numerous canine references for the remainder of his career.^{[97][98][99][100][101][102][103][104]} In 2006, when Keane moved house to Sunderland, his reunion with Triggs, who joined him later, came to the notice of the press.^[105] In 2007, Keane was reported to have heard of his team's promotion to the Premiership while walking Triggs.^[106] The following year, Keane was said to have acquired a German Shepherd Dog named Izac to accompany Triggs.^{[107][108][109]} Russell Brand observed the frequency with which Keane has been associated with his dogs, particularly when involved in the news – with quotes including "Keane will certainly have more time to walk his dogs", "The only real winners are Roy Keane's dogs", and "Roy Keane's dogs refused to comment on the situation" – before he googled "Roy Keane's dogs" only to discover it had more hits than "something with a lot of hits".^[110]

In later life, Triggs was involved in a police investigation when his behaviour caused an argument between Keane and a neighbour.^[111] He appeared in an Irish Guide Dogs advertisement in 2009 - whereupon the Irish Examiner referred to him as "football's biggest canine celebrity" -^[112] and also received his own profile on Facebook.^[111] Triggs was described as a "celebrity" and a "household name" upon erroneous reports of her death from cancer in September 2010.^[93][111] Keane was described as "inconsolable".^[111] The Irish Examiner's obituary noted how "At critical moments when the nation's happiness seemed entwined with Roy's moods, he turned to his Labrador Triggs and took to the road".^[113]

Honours[link]

Player[link]

Club[link]

Nottingham Forest

• Full Members Cup (1): 1992

Manchester United

• Premier League (7): 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03
• FA Cup (4): 1993–94, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2003–04
• FA Community Shield (4): 1993, 1996, 1997, 2003
• UEFA Champions League (1): 1998–99
• Intercontinental Cup (1): 1999

Celtic

• Scottish Premier League (1): 2005–06
• Scottish League Cup (1): 2005–06

Individual[link]

• FWA Footballer of the Year: 2000
• PFA Players' Player of the Year: 2000
• PFA Team of the Year: 1992–93, 1996–97, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2001–02
• Premier League 10 Seasons Awards (1992–93 to 2001–02): Overseas Team of the Decade
• English Football Hall of Fame: 2004
• Premier League Player of the Month (2): October 1998, December 1999
• FIFA 100

Manager[link]

Club[link]

Sunderland

• Football League Championship (1): 2006–07

Individual[link]

• Football League Championship Manager of the Month (2): February 2007, March 2007

Statistics[link]

Player[link]

^[114]

International goals[link]

^[115]

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	16 November 1994	Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland	Northern Ireland	4–0	Win	UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
2, 3	6 September 1997	Laugardalsvollur, Reykjavik, Iceland	Iceland	4–2	Win	1998 World Cup qualification
4	5 September 1998	Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Ireland	Croatia	2–0	Win	UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
5	14 October 1998	Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Ireland	Malta	5–0	Win	UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
6, 7	24 March 2001	Nicosia, Cyprus	Cyprus	4–0	Win	2002 World Cup qualification
8	2 June 2001	Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Ireland	Portugal	1–1	Draw	2002 World Cup qualification
9	6 October 2001	Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Ireland	Cyprus	4–0	Win	2002 World Cup qualification

Manager[link]