{"id":413240,"date":"2026-03-31T13:24:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T13:24:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/413240\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T13:24:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T13:24:10","slug":"roy-keane-says-mothers-death-ripped-our-hearts-out-of-our-chests-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/413240\/","title":{"rendered":"Roy Keane says mother\u2019s death \u2018ripped our hearts out of our chests\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Roy Keane<\/a> told mourners at the funeral Mass for his mother Marie that losing her felt like the family having their \u201chearts ripped out of their chests\u201d. <\/p>\n

However, the family was taking comfort in her being reunited \u201cwith people who love her as much as we do\u201d, he told mourners at today\u2019s Mass at the Church of the Resurrection in Farranree in Cork<\/a> city. <\/p>\n

Marie Keane (79) died at Marymount Hospice in Cork city last Friday. She was predeceased by her husband Mossie, who died in 2019. <\/p>\n

The former Manchester United and Ireland player told mourners at the Mass his parents got married in the church on August 10th, 1963.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe coffin being carried from the funeral of Marie Keane. Photograph: Brendan Gleeson\/PA Wire <\/p>\n

Roy Keane said he rarely went against the wishes of his mother. However, he stressed he planned to disobey her on this occasion by making a \u201cfuss\u2019 of her at her funeral.<\/p>\n

He said his mother grew up in Fairhill in Cork city. As the second eldest in a family of nine she had a lot of responsibility from an early age. Romance came calling in the form of Mossie Keane. <\/p>\n

He said his parents were smitten with each other right from the start.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne day her brother brought back the handsome teenager Mossie Keane. Standing in her living room she was in love. They [went on to have] five children. She would say six including me dad, as he was spoiled more than any of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

He admitted he and his siblings Denis, Johnson, Hilary and Pat \u201cweren\u2019t ready for Mam to go\u201d. Keane said they often wondered who was the favourite of their mother.<\/p>\n

\u201cDenis being the eldest always thought it could be him. Pat was the youngest \u2014 maybe him. Hilary being the only girl \u2014 possibly. I am not sure where that left Johnson and myself. But she was loyal to all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The former Ireland assistant manager said Marie was \u201cpretty cool all the time but as a mother she excelled\u201d. Keane said he had \u201cgreat memories of growing up\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur mam didn\u2019t always get what we wanted but always gave us what we needed.<\/p>\n

She was pretty strict with us and if we were up to no good she had an amazing skill of throwing a shoe and no matter where we were in the house, she would always hit the target.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also smiled as he remembered the time his late mother \u201cchased some lads down the street who had robbed a tree from our bonfire\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe sprinted off and caught them and came back dragging the tree behind her. It was very impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keane said summer holidays to Garrettstown in Co Cork were always special for him and his family.<\/p>\n

\u201cWalking around and getting a bag of chips. I thought life was great. So simple. The two of them [his parents] would be in great form.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another firm favourite involved trips to Dublin with his family for the \u201cAll-Ireland [Final] when Cork used to win\u201d. Keane conceded they never had a ticket to the match itself. It was was a case of \u201cyou can\u2019t have everything\u201d.<\/p>\n

His mother could, he said, relay a lot with an eye roll, and her trademark \u201cwicked sense of humour\u201d was intact until the end.<\/p>\n

He thanked all those who had paid tribute to his mother on RIP.ie. <\/p>\n

One man, he said, had writtenhe was \u201cchuffed\u201d when Marie Keane introduced herself to him while he was on holiday in Portugal. The man had written that although the encounter was short, he could tell she was a great woman.<\/p>\n

Keane smiled as he said that condolence had been written by Nicky Byrne of Westlife.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was my mam. Never shy to approach a complete stranger, especially when that complete stranger was a celebrity!\u201d<\/p>\n

He said his mother was a \u201cgreat help and support\u201d to her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and to her friends and neighbours.<\/p>\n

He also paid tribute to his aunts and uncles and the extended Lynch family for their assistance to his mother in recent years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have never known a closer family. We will never be able to thank you enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keane said although it had been a \u201ctough\u201d couple of years for his mother, she never complained.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never heard her complain once in all that time. Not once. What a woman she was. Ultimately our mam and dad were at their happiest when they were together, and they are together again. God bless Mam and thanks for everything you did for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was a black and white photograph of the smiling couple on the coffin for the duration of the Mass.<\/p>\n

Fr Sean O\u2019Sullivan told mourners Marie Keane meant the world to her family. She loved them \u201cnot for anything they had done or achieved\u201d but simply for who they were.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile our hearts expand to love others as we grow there is a place in our hearts that forever belongs to our mother. That is what makes them so special. It also makes it hard to lose them.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to her husband, Marie Keane was predeceased by her brother Pat, her niece Estella and her nephew Thomas.<\/p>\n

A note on RIP.ie said she would also be \u201csadly missed\u201d by her sisters Ina, Annette and Josephine, brothers Jack, Leo, Michael and Noel, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, daughters-in-law Linda, Theresa and Mary, brothers and sisters in law, nephews and nieces, extended family, her great neighbours in Mayfield and and Rathpeacon and her friends. Burial took place at St Catherine\u2019s Cemetery in Kilcully, Co Cork.<\/p>\n

\"MarieMarie Keane, the late mother of former Manchester United and Ireland player Roy Keane <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Roy Keane told mourners at the funeral Mass for his mother Marie that losing her felt like the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":413241,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[76],"tags":[1877,18,19,17,77250,5788,132,26553],"class_list":{"0":"post-413240","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-cork","9":"tag-eire","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland","12":"tag-nicky-byrne","13":"tag-roy-keane","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-westlife"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116324012414530766","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413240","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=413240"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413240\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/413241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=413240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=413240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=413240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}