First look: Full Saipan trailer shows infamous Roy Keane and Mick McCarthy confrontation
Saipan tells the story of Ireland football captain Roy Keane and his national team manager Mick McCarthy during the team’s preparations for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Picture: Aidan Monaghan.
The official poster and full trailer for the eagerly awaited new film about the infamous confrontation between Roy Keane and Mick McCarthy have been revealed.
Presented by Vertigo Releasing and Wildcard, the film tells the story of Ireland football captain Roy Keane, played by BAFTA-nominated Éanna Hardwicke, and his national team manager Mick McCarthy, played by two-time Academy Award® nominee Steve Coogan, during the team’s preparations for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
The intense rivalry between the two personalities transcended the game, gripping an entire nation and the sporting world.
The film explores how, on the surface, the feud was all about standards, but deep down it was a hugely emotive story of two men whose rivalry and contempt came to surpass the sport they loved.
Starring Hardwicke and Coogan, has an impressive supporting cast, including Alice Lowe ( ), Jamie Beamish ( ), Alex Murphy ( ), Harriet Cains ( ), and Peter McDonald ( ).
The film is directed by award-winning filmmakers Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn and is based on an original script by Paul Fraser.
is produced by Macdara Kelleher and John Keville for Wild Atlantic Pictures, along with Trevor Birney and Oliver Butler for Fine Point Films, with Patrick O’Neill, Rachael O’Kane, Rupert Preston and Ed Caffrey serving as executive producers.
It is made in association with Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland and Northern Ireland Screen, with Greg Martin as the executive producer for Screen Ireland and Ursula Devine as the executive producer for Northern Ireland Screen.
will be in cinemas across Ireland from January 1, 2026.
