Roy Keane teams up with author Roddy Doyle for memoir

[January 20, 2014]  DUBLIN (Reuters) — Booker Prize-winning author Roddy Doyle, creator of some of Ireland's most renowned characters, will tackle one the country's best known when he teams up with Roy Keane to write the former footballer's memoir.

Former Manchester United captain Keane and Doyle, author of books such as 'The Commitments', will collaborate on 'The Second Half', the fiery midfielder's autobiography set to be published later this year, the Orion Publishing Group said on Friday.

Keane, who wrote his first autobiography in 2002, shortly after walking out on the Irish national team during that year's World Cup, enjoyed a hugely successful playing career that was equally filled with controversy.

The ex-Ireland captain, who became assistant manager of the national team last year, won seven league titles with United and helped them to a first European title in over 30 years in 1999 before famously falling out with manager Alex Ferguson.

His World Cup walk out dominated the front and back pages of newspapers at the time and was even depicted in a musical that compared the dispute to a Shakespearean tragedy.

"Ten years ago I was buying something in a shop in New York and I handed my credit card to the young African man behind the counter. He read 'Bank of Ireland' on the card, looked at me and said: 'Ireland — Roy Keane,'" Doyle said in a statement.

"I'm delighted to be writing this book with Roy."

Doyle, 55, won critical and commercial success in the late 80s and early 90s with his first three novels, the so-called "Barrytown Trilogy" of 'The Commitments', 'The Snapper' and 'The Van', all of which were made into well-received films.

He was awarded the Booker Prize in 1993 for his novel 'Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha', which like his early work, was set in working-class Dublin and written in Doyle's idiosyncratic witty and richly descriptive style.

(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; editing by Toby Davis)

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