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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
National
Daire Fitton, Reporter & Clare McCarthy

Belfast comedian claims Roy Keane got revenge after being taunted for his Irish roots

A comedian has claimed that he got to see Roy Keane's hard man side up close and personal after he taunted him from the side lines at his Celtic debut.

West Belfast comedian Paddy McDonnell admitted he had some choice words for Keano after his team crashed out of the Scottish Cup, losing 2-1 to Frist Division side Clyde in 2005.

While the loss obviously irked Roy, McDonnell made the mistake of going even further and taunted the proud Irish man over his lineage, calling Keane "a f****** Cork gypsy", Cork Beo reports.

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This comedian claims this caught Roy's attention and he spoke with Northern Irish teammate Neil Lennon who helped him hatch a plan to get back at McDonnell.

Paddy told the story in full on a recent episode of the Hot Water's Green Room podcast.

After the game, Neil invited the comedian into his car with the promise of a match-worn top and when the Belfast man sat down in the front seat, Roy popped up from the back seat beginning a terrifying exchange.

McDonnell claimed Keane wrapped his arm around his neck and whispering in his ear, "Who is a f****** Cork gypsy now ya f****** fat c***?"

After Keane's grip lingered a moment too long, his teammate persuaded him to let go and without another word the Corkman left the vehicle.

You can watch it here - but be warned - there's some VERY strong language. A number of people on TikTok claim they think Paddy has an over-active imagination - and if something like this did happen, Keane was almost certainly playing a practical joke with his team-mates.

"When Roy Keane came to the club (Celtic), I knew Neil Lennon. Neil Lennon was the club's captian," explained McDonnell on the Hot Water's Green Room podcast.

"Keane's first match was against Clyde in the cup, and it was this tiny, tiny stadium, it was freezing cold.

"When they came out I was going 'you're a f****** Cork gypsy', calling him everything and he could hear because it was a tiny pitch. He went over to Lennon and was going, 'Who the f*** is this c***?' and Lennon was like 'I know him, I know him'.

"After the match Lennon had a match-worn top for me, and he said 'come and meet me outside the ground'.

"I jumped into the front of his car and when I got in, an arm went round my neck and was choking me and Lenny was going 'ha ha ha.' And I started going purple and he was like 'you need to let go of him now'.

"All I heard was the voice. It was like, 'Who is a f****** Cork gypsy now ya f****** fat c***?' then Lenny is like, 'Let him go, he's choking!'

"And then he let me go and I look and he just got out of the car and walked away and I was like 'holy f*** the night, that was Keane."

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