The mother of former Manchester United captain Roy Keane has sadly passed away, her family confirmed on Friday.
Marie Keane passed away ‘peacefully, surrounded by her loving family and in the tender loving care of the doctors, nurses and staff’ at Marymount University Hospital and Hospital in Cork.
The former Manchester United and Ireland player was close to his mother, and would regularly travel back to his hometown to visit her.
He shared a picture of the two of them together on one such visit in January 2022, alongside the caption: ‘The only boss I listen to’.
Marie is predeceased by her husband, Maurice ‘Mossie’ Keane, who passed away in 2019 at the age of 79 after suffering a stroke. She is described as the ‘beloved mother of Denis, Johnson, Hilary, Roy and Pat’.
During an episode of Stick to Football last year, Keane became emotional when he came across a picture of his parents while going through his memorabilia, and was comforted by fellow hosts Ian Wright, Jill Scott and Gary Neville.
The former Manchester United and Ireland player was close to his mother, and would regularly travel back to his hometown to visit her
His parents were big supporters of his career during his playing days, watching on as he made 480 appearances for United between 1993-2005, as well as 67 caps for Ireland.
Sir Alex Ferguson once labelled Keane as the ‘best player’ he had ever worked with, with the Irishman lifting 12 major trophies during his 12-year spell at the club.
The legendary manager though did write in his autobiography that Keane had a ‘savage tongue’ and that the had to be moved on for the greater good of the club after he ‘overstepped his mark’ for criticising his team-mates on United’s in-house television station.
Marie leapt to the defence of her son, telling the Irish Sun: ‘God almighty, I can’t believe Sir Alex would say such things about Roy. I just can’t believe it.
‘I would have never thought he would do something like this. He’s our son and he has a wife and children, and it’s not nice for any of us to be hearing someone run a loved one down like that.
‘It’s all very nasty what he said. It’s nasty really. It’s terrible and I’m very upset.’
Keane moved to England to join Nottingham Forest in 1990, and made sure that his parents always had tickets to his games.
It was during this time that Maurice and Marie from Mayfield to Rathpeacon, Cork, to a house Roy had bought for them.
The visitation will take place at O’Connor Bros. Funeral Home, North Gate Bridge on Monday, March 30, between 6 and 7 pm.
It will be followed by a requiem mass on Tuesday, March 31, at 11.00 am in the Church of the Resurrection, Farranree. The family has requested donations to Marymount Hospice in lieu of flowers.
