FOOTBALL manager Mick McCarthy is to be immortalised in song in an epic to rival the films Troy and Gladiator.
Macartacus, as the work is titled, centres on a historic struggle between two warriors fought on a foreign field.
However, it is not the legendary conflict between Achilles and Hector in ancient Turkey, nor is it the fights held in Rome's Colosseum 2,000 years ago.
It is the war of words between Republic of Ireland captain Roy Keane and the team's then manager, Mick McCarthy, at the 2002 World Cup in the Far East.
Manchester United midfielder Keane stormed out of the tournament after a row with McCarthy, now in charge at Sunderland.
The men turning the spat into a musical are Father Ted co-writer Arthur Mathews and author Mick Nugent.
Jim Sheridan, who directed the films In the Name of the Father and My Left Foot, is to direct the musical, expected to open in Dublin this autumn.
After vowing never to play for his country again, Keane donned his green shirt again last month in a friendly international against Romania.
Published: 14/06/2004
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