Roy Keane once met a dying youngster and gave him his jersey after a request from the late Martin McGuinness.
Former RTE journalist Tommy Gorman made the revelation as he looked back on his famous interview with the Manchester United legend following the Saipan incident ahead of the 2002 World Cup.
Gorman got a phone call from the former First Minister of Northern Ireland asking if Keane would be able to meet teenager Gerard Logue, who had cancer and sadly died a few months later.
After a call to Michael Kennedy, who advised Keane throughout his career, the Cork man agreed to meet the young Derry native.
Gorman told Off The Ball: "I had dealings with him afterwards.
"He came over to Dublin to do a thing for the guide dogs and I was given that interview with him. It's the first thing he did when he came back. He helped me. This is an interesting story.
"Martin McGuinness one Friday rang me. And he asked...there's a young lad from Derry going over to a match. The next day Man United were playing against Southampton. Could the young lad get to meet Roy Keane? That was a big stretch. It was the day after so there was very little time.
"But the young lad was very sick.
"I got onto Michael Kennedy and the next day the match took place. United won maybe 3-2. Keane came out of the players lounge with Ruud van Nistelrooy and looked for the young lad. He brought the young lad into the players lounge and spent time with him.
"And then took off his jersey and presented him with the jersey.
"The young lad was very sick and died not long after that. I took that to be a sign of the Roy Keane I'm very sure is there, the soft side of Keane."
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts
