Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Robert Hynes

Roy Keane's relationship with wife Theresa after recalling disastrous first date on Tommy Tiernan Show

Roy Keane had TV viewers in fits of laughter on Saturday night as he appeared on the Tommy Tiernan Show on RTE.

The former Republic of Ireland captain and assistant coach recalled his first date with wife Theresa that went "very badly".

Keane recalled how he first met Theresa in a club in Nottingham and they later went on a date - that ended after 15 minutes with her slamming the car door.

READ MORE: Roy Keane's interview with Tommy Tiernan hailed 'brilliant' by RTE viewers

He said: "We probably only had one really proper date which wasn't good, really."

Host Tommy questioned, saying: "You mean it didn't go well?

"It went very badly," admitted Keane. "We met, I picked her up, and I'd met her [before] when I had a few drinks so the chat was slightly different.

"We went for a spin and I said, 'Do you fancy going to the pictures?' Because at least at the pictures you can just watch the movie, you don't have to chat too much.

"And she said 'No, I went last night with my friends'.

"So I said, 'Do you want to go for a drink?' She said 'No'.

"I literally drove back to the car, this is all within 10 or 15 minutes. She said, 'What are you doing?'

"I said, 'Well, you don't want to go for a drink, you don't want to go to the pictures, what else can we do?'

"She got out [of the car] and I said, 'Might see you next week' and she said 'I don't think so' and slammed the door. That was my first date."

Keane then left the audience in stitches of laughter as he finished the story, saying: "And we're still married."

The couple has been married for more than 20 years and share five children together, Shannon, Caragh, Aidan, Leah and Alanna.

The pair met in 1992 while Keane was playing for Nottingham Forest, and they later tied the knot at the Church of Our Lady Crowned in his native town of Mayfield, Co. Cork in 1997.

Keane previously opened up about his wife during an interview with David Walsh for the Sunday Times in the early 2000s, saying Theresa is his 'rock'.

He said: "I don't really mention her in public, but in fairness to her, she has been a rock in my life. Just brilliant. She reads me better than I read myself.

"I wouldn't say Theresa likes every part of the package. She knows I haven't got a halo over my head. Actually, that's what she likes about me. She also knows I am not the nastiest person in the world."

In his autobiography, Keane said despite his triumphant sports career, he loves nothing more than spending time with his family.

He said after winning the Champions League with Manchester United in 1999, he "...longed to go home to Theresa and the kids."

The former Sunderland manager joked about hoping to spend more time with his family after hanging up his boots but said they wanted him to get back to work after just two months.

He said: "My plan when I first stopped was, we're going to go on some family trips, we're going to be like the Waltons.

"We're all going to spend time together, go walk in the park, and after a month or two, they didn't have the same plan as me, so I think they were kind of missing me going to work.

"I got offered the job at Sunderland, and I was away on a family holiday and my family were looking at me... not saying it directly but going we kind of enjoy your company but not too much of it so when the job came back up they were saying you should go for it."

READ NEXT:

Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.