Irish soccer’s Battle of Saipan set for the big screen with Steve Coogan starring

Top British star Steve Coogan is set to play Mick McCarthy, with rising Irish star Éanna Hardwicke slotted in as his nemesis Roy Keane.

The bust-up between the pair on the Pacific island in the lead up to the tournament in Japan/South Korea led to captain Keane being sent home by manager McCarthy, a row which bitterly split Irish soccer fans at the time and made world headlines.

BAFTA-nominated Hardwicke (The Sixth Commandment, Lakelands) is set to play Manchester United and Ireland legend Roy Keane in upcoming Irish feature Saipan.

The 27year-old Corkman will be joined by two-time Oscar nominee Steve Coogan (Philomena, The Reckoning), who will star as McCarthy.

Alan Partridge star Coogan (58) has roots in Co Mayo, where his family hail from, but was raised in England.

Saipan will be made in association with Fís Éireann / Screen Ireland and Northern Ireland Screen, with a shoot set for Ireland and Saipan later this summer.

Greg Martin is Executive Producer for Screen Ireland, with Ursula Devine Executive Producer for Northern Ireland Screen.

Producers Macdara Kelleher and John Keville said: “A million words have been written about what happened on that fateful week in 2002 on the tiny island of Saipan.”

“Next year audiences will finally get to experience first-hand the feud between Roy Keane and Mick McCarthy and why it was labelled “the worst preparation for a World Cup campaign ever”.

Directors Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn said: “We’re thrilled to be working with this extraordinary cast and creative team to tell the story of an infamous moment in Irish and football history that drew battle lines across a nation, cast its hopes, dreams and sense of identity into disarray, and briefly made a tiny volcanic island in the Pacific one of the most famous places on earth.”