Saipan Filming To Begin In Belfast This Week

It has been confirmed that shooting for Saipan, a film based on Ireland’s infamous 2002 World Cup campaign, will begin later this week.

The film which is set for release next Summer, will look at the events which led to Ireland captain Roy Keane dramatically leaving the camp ahead of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, following a much publicised and bitter row with then manager Mick McCarthy.

This bust up led to a divide in public opinion regarding who was to blame throughout the country, with some people blaming McCarthy, and others blaming Keane.

Steve Coogan will star as Mick McCarthy, with Roy Keane being played by BAFTA nominee Éanna Hardwicke.

“fantastic”

Speaking to RTÉ, producer Trevor Birney has confirmed that filming for Saipan, will begin on Thursday.

Calling the script “fantastic”, Birney also added: “Ultimately it’s a universal story about two men who wanted the same thing but just really couldn’t agree on how to go about it”. 

Birney also said that Hardwicke playing the role of Keane is “stunning”, while adding that Coogan as Mick McCarthy would be “mind-blowing”. 

Saipan will also be directed by filmmakers Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn, who will work off a script written by Paul Fraser.

“We’re thrilled to be working with this extraordinary cast and creative team to tell the story of an infamous moment in Irish and football history that drew battle lines across a nation, cast its hopes, dreams and sense of identity into disarray, and briefly made a tiny volcanic island in the Pacific one of the most famous places on earth”, D’Sa and Leyburn said.