Claire Griffin finally reunited with Roy Keane at an Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind fundraiser earlier this month, 30 years after he gave her and her late father free tickets to a Manchester United match. She showed him a 1,000-piece jigsaw made from a photo of their first meeting, and she said he "couldn't have been nicer."
A 30-Year Wait to Meet Again
Claire's journey to meet him again started back in April 1995, right after she travelled to Old Trafford with her father for a Leeds United versus Man United game. The original meeting came about after her granddad wrote a letter to 96FM's competition, 'Meet Your Hero,' and then her dad wrote a letter to Roy Keane c/o Manchester United.
Claire told Cork's 96FM Opinion Line: "And about six weeks later, I was sitting at home and the phone rang, and my sister answered. And this man said, 'Is William Murphy there?' Dad was working at the time. So I was sitting in the sitting room doing my French homework - I was in Transition Year - and my sister came in and goes, 'Claire, Roy Keane is on the phone.'"
A Special Meeting and a Cherished Gift
Claire said she was certain someone was pranking them, but not long after she picked up the phone, she knew she was talking to the real Keano. He told her he was sending them tickets for a match, and he would love to meet them afterwards. When they finally travelled over, Claire said Roy "treated them like royalty."
"It was Leeds United versus Man United at home. It ended nil-all. And myself and my dad then went into the players' lounge and met players, and we waited for Roy. And he was just amazing. We had about an hour and a half with him and just spoke about Cork and Midleton and, you know," she said.
The meeting meant the world to William, so Claire gifted him a 1,000-piece jigsaw made from the photo they got with the football legend. It soon became William's most prized possession, and a great pastime for him when his health started to decline over COVID and he wasn't able to go outside much. He sadly passed away in 2024, but still spoke regularly about Keano up until his final days.
An Emotional Reunion
After losing her father, Claire made it her mission to show Roy the jigsaw that had meant so much to him. When she heard the sports pundit would be at a charity fundraiser this month, she knew it was the perfect chance.
At the event, she saw Roy had a moment of downtime, so she rushed to grab the jigsaw and show it to him. At first, a lady with security tried to say that he couldn't talk - but Roy interrupted them, telling Claire: "Are you going to let her stop you?"
She recalled: "So I brought the jigsaw up, and it was like it came back to him, whether it did or not. Maybe that was wishful thinking, I don't know. But anyway, showed him the jigsaw; he thought it was fabulous. We reminisced about the day, told him about Dad's dream in the Mercy, and he said, 'Oh, typical me, knocking back the pints,' you know. He couldn't have been better, stood for the picture, and it was just absolutely amazing."
"He was just brilliant. He spoke to everyone that came up. I went up to him again with the rest of the group that I had with me. We all got our picture taken. He was asking about the business. He couldn't have been nicer. I mean, I would have stayed there all night, but, like, I had to leave and go."
It was a very special moment for the Cork woman, who said Roy is an "absolute gent." Despite his 'hard-man' reputation, Keano is known to have a softer side and has done a lot of work for charity and special visits over the years. Last year, he went out of his way to surprise one unwell fan of his named Pat O'Sullivan at the Mercy Hospital. It came after his son, Rob, reached out to RedFM Breakfast in the hopes of getting in touch with Roy and asking him to record a personal message for their dad. The request eventually reached Keane, who decided to go above and beyond for the O'Sullivan family, flying into Cork for a surprise visit and a chat with Pat.
