"Eanna Hardwicke cannot really remember Saipan. Not Saipan the place, a small Pacific Island 200km north-east of Guam. Nor, thankfully, Saipan the film, in which he stars, and which I'm hoping to discuss with him at length this afternoon. No, he means Saipan the incident, Saipan the event, Saipan the crisis that has baffled and incensed Ireland's population for a quarter of a century."
"Hardwicke himself sports the quiet, thoughtful presence of a literature student, at times speaking like a particularly articulate MA who's popped round to deliver a treatise on some dramatic works he just happens to be starring in. He's here rehearsing a play that forms another contentious landmark in Ireland's cultural history, but we'll get to that once we move past the summer he turned five."
Eanna Hardwicke cannot clearly recall Saipan as a place or the film but retains memory of the Saipan incident that deeply divided Ireland. He recalls June 2002 through colours, sticker books, jerseys and a prompted remark about Roy Keane being "a disgrace to his country". Hardwicke rehearses at the National Theatre, projecting a thoughtful, literature-student presence while preparing to star in Saipan and another contentious Irish play. The Saipan crisis originated from Ireland's football squad taking a pre-World Cup trip and a fallout between captain Roy Keane and manager Mick McCarthy, portrayed by Steve Coogan in the film.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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