ACTOR ÉANNA HARDWICKE PLAYS ROY KEANE IN 2002 WORLD CUP CLASH

In upcoming film Saipan, the rising Irish star shines as the footballer who was famously sent home from 2002's Irish World Cup team in disgrace

- By NICK REILLY

For a remote island in the western Pacific Ocean, the outpost of Saipan has hosted its fair share of prolific battles throughout history. As war raged in the Pacific in 1944, it became a key battleground when the US Marine Corps and Army landed on its shores for a bloody conflict against the Empire of Japan which claimed the lives of more than 30,000 troops in a month.

Then, nearly 60 years later, came a conflict that was altogether less devastating but, like the events of 1944, had a considerable impact on a nation back home: the fierce battle of footballer Roy Keane and Ireland manager Mick McCarthy in 2002.

When Keane was sent home from Ireland's pre-World Cup camp in Saipan by McCarthy that year, its impact shattered and split a nation in the way that only great conflicts can. On one side stood the star captain and midfielder who had repeatedly criticised the Football Association of Ireland (FAI's) preparations for the upcoming tournament in Japan and South Korea. Or in Keane's opinion, the lack thereof.

On the other stood McCarthy, the no-nonsense Yorkshireman (though Irish through his father and the captain of Jack Charlton's Italia 90 squad) who made the bold call to finally send Roy Keane home after a 10-minute diatribe in which Keane branded him a "fucking wanker" and told him he could "stick your World Cup up your arse."

This enduring chapter in Irish history is immaculately presented in Saipan, a new film by directors Lisa Barros D'Sa and Glenn Leyburn which expertly captures the conflict between Keane and McCarthy, its impact back home, and – in many of the film's unexpectedly hilarious moments – the unspoken fact that the situation was in many ways a comedy of errors.