Saipan
Monday 9 March 2026
- Duration: 90 mins
Language: English with Open Captions
| Monday 9 March
8pm |
Book Now |
Accessible / wheelchair seats must be booked through Box Office on 01 272 4030.
Saipan revisits the infamous row between Mick McCarthy and Roy Keane in the weeks before the 2002 World Cup. Led by coach McCarthy and captain Keane, the Irish team travels to Saipan for a key preparation camp. However, Keane grows frustrated with the quality of the facilities and resources available to them. McCarthy attempts to reassure his star player, but soon the two men are embroiled in a heated and very public dispute - one that escalates when Keane threatens to return home.
Saipan is a compelling and vibrant dramatisation of one of the most infamous sporting sagas in Irish history. Éanna Hardwicke (Keane) and Steve Coogan (McCarthy) are both superb as the men at the centre of the row.
Festivals:
Toronto International Film Festival 2025
Cork International Film Festival 2025
‘At a game-length 91 minutes, Saipan smartly comes and goes with speed (for all of its anger, it’s also a breezy, funny time) but it’s the rare football movie that’s worth a replay.’
★★★★ Benjamin Lee, The Guardian
‘The performances by Hardwicke and Coogan are outstanding… They both deliver excellent versions of two characters which feel authentic and never cartoonish.’
Evelyn O’Rourke, RTÉ
‘A quite brilliant retelling of a traumatic time in sporting history.’
Conor Pope, The Irish Times
