It’s hands off when it comes to family life

HE’S high-octane, headline-making on the field of play, but when it comes to family life, it’s hands off.

Roy Keane has never been one for giving public interviews on his private life.

Those worth their footballing salt know he was born in the Cork city suburb of Mayfield and that he now lives in neo-Tudor splendour in a high-security Cheshire mansion.

They also know that he has four young children; that his wife’s name is Theresa Doyle, from Nottingham, and that they wed in secret in his native parish five years ago. It is also widely acknowledged that he has never forgotten his Cork roots.

Keane’s generosity in his native city is well-documented.

His father Moss was jokingly christened Sterling Moss from a habit of flashing the wads of cash his benevolent son sent home to him.

Both Moss and his wife Marie moved from their council home in Mayfield to a detached house in Rathpeacon, Co Cork, bought from the proceeds of Roy’s footballing prowess.

Roy’s brothers Johnson, Denis and Pat and his sister Hilary have similarly benefited from the Keane kitty.

If generosity is one of his strong points, his ability to avoid trouble is not.

In 1992, he was arrested after rowdy scenes outside a Nottingham nightclub, but released without charge.

The following year he was thrown out of another nightclub after being caught up in a brawl.

In 1995, he appeared at Cork Circuit Court after neighbour Jacqueline Murray took a defamation case against him.

Keane won the case. Two years later, in the early hours of September 25, he was caught up in a scuffle at a Stretford hotel following 2-2 draw with Chelsea, but witness statements were withdrawn and no action was taken.

He was also interviewed by police over claims that he threatened a neighbour during a row over Keane’s straying dogs.

There was further controversy in May 1999 when Keane was arrested after a woman accused him of assaulting her in a bar.

He spent a night in a prison cell, but it later emerged that his accuser had called the newspapers to sell her story before calling the police.

Stories of depression and heavy drinking have always been dismissed.

Earlier this month, he was granted an honorary doctorate in his native city, making him Dr Keane.

None of this is news. The sum total of what the ordinary Joe Soap knows about Roy Keane the man is only what’s been carried on the papers, on TV or over the airwaves.

Private Roy is an unknown quantity. He speaks of personal problems, but no one seems to know what they are. The next few days could tell us more about the Real McCoy then what we’ve learnt of him over the past 31 years.