Japanese tour party to seek out Roy’s roots at Rockmount

ELEVEN Japanese businessmen will travel from Tokyo to Ireland in April to trace Roy Keane’s roots.

One of the visitors, Mr Ito, acted as liaison officer to the FAI at the World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea in 2002.

Ray Treacy, whose travel company looks after the FAI, confirmed yesterday that Mr Ito was one of the travelling party who want to meet with officers of Rockmount, Keane’s schoolboy club, and hoped to meet his family.

He said: “A travel agent from Tokyo got in touch with me out of the blue and asked could I put a programme together for eleven businessmen.

“He wrote saying they wanted to meet with Shamrock Robers - that’s how they spelt it - and with Roy Keane’s connections.

“I’m putting together a programme for them and they made it clear the main purpose of their trip was to meet with Roy’s original club, Rockmount, and his family.

“They also want to visit the Cork area and I have suggested they visit Blarney and Kinsale.

“They will be here for four to five days and I am waiting for confirmation from them. It seems amazing they would travel all this way but it is clear they have a special interest in Roy Keane.”

Mr Treacy said that many of the Japanese people the Irish dealt with in Japan had maintained contact with him since the World Cup.

“The city of Izumo still put on an Irish exhibition for one week every year,” he said, “and Mayor Nishi corresponds on a regular basis. But this is a new development.”