Cantwell rejuvenated by return to his roots
In the run-up to the event, the 36 times capped Cantwell, who also represented Ireland at cricket, has been reflecting on his hometown, his career and, of course, Roy Keane and the continuing Cork connection at Old Trafford.
"The family home in which I was born is still standing in the Mardyke," said the 70-year-old, who left in the early 1950s to join West Ham.
"My sister-in-law lives there and we often go to see her. Cork has changed a lot since I left. I don't really notice the changes, though, apart from the cricket ground which is not as attractive as it used to be. I get across to Dublin for international matches, and even the odd rugby international."
Although best known for his achievements in football, Cantwell was a genuine sporting all-rounder.
"Cricket was one of my loves as a kid but I played everything," he recalls. "I played soccer and rugby. I went to North Mon the same school as Jack Lynch where I played a bit of Gaelic football and hurling.
"I played cricket in the summer. It wasn't very popular in Cork. It was seen as an upper class sport but I lived near the cricket ground. Our house was only 100 yards away, although in the early days a little fella like me wouldn't be allowed in.
"But I went on to enjoy the game and when I was at West Ham, I would have three months off and I would go home and play cricket.
I got onto the Munster team and then scored 111 runs in an Ireland trial, so they couldn't have kept me off the international side, even if they wanted to. I found cricket very enjoyable, although I never thought about making a career out of it."
Football was to be the fortunate beneficiary of Cantwell's sporting prowess, his commanding defensive presence and innate leadership skills, taking him to Wembley in 1963 as the captain of a Manchester United team which beat Leicester in the FA Cup final. It was, he says, a boyhood dream fulfilled.
"I was so excited I threw the Cup up in the air. The commissionaire gave me a lecture and told me 'you don't throw the FA Cup in the air'. I told him that I had played cricket for Ireland and would be very surprised if I wasn't able to catch it.
"That was the highlight of my career, playing in front of 100,000 at Wembley. I'm not sure if the Queen was too happy about presenting the Cup to an Irishman and, funnily enough, I think she stopped going after that."
From his international career, Cantwell selects for special mention a famous game which, after a mighty performance, ended in such crushing disappointment for the Irish that in the deathless phrase of Philip Greene the silence in Dalymount Park could be heard at Nelson's Pillar.
"I suppose the most memorable game of my Ireland days was against England in Dublin in 1957 when we conceded an equaliser in the last minute. People still ask me about it and it was a great disappointment because it would have been a big thing for us to have beaten England.
"They had a very good side that day with the likes of Tom Finney, Stanley Matthews and Duncan Edwards. They had murdered us at Wembley but we came so close to beating them in Dublin."
When his playing days were over, Cantwell spent five years as manager at Coventry City, taking them to an all-time club high of seventh in the old First Division in 1970. As recently as last year, he was active in the game, scouting for England, until the FA decided to bring in younger scouts.
But why England rather than Ireland? "I would be highly delighted if Ireland asked me to scout for them, but I have never had the opportunity. People have asked me why I didn't do it for Ireland but I was never asked. England were willing to pay me so it wasn't much of a decision for me to have to make."
Finally, one Cork football legend on another what is Noel Cantwell's opinion of Roy Keane? "I had an opinion on Roy Keane at the time he left Saipan and it was that I didn't approve of what he did and how he left," he says. "He should have stayed with the team because he could have made a big difference but that is all done and dusted now.
"I have met Roy on a number of occasions, although not in the past few years. It was mainly when he was younger. You don't tend to see footballers after games now, they are usually whisked out a back or a side door. I know his dad better. I have had a few jars with him over the years.
"I am delighted to see that Roy has continued the Cork connection (at Old Trafford) as well as Liam Miller, although I don't know too much about him. It is unbelievable that there have been quite a few Cork players at the club, all of whom seem to have done very well. I thought Denis Irwin was a top-class player. He was one of the best ever at Old Trafford in my opinion."
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