Dutch artist left stunned after Roy Keane approached him as he finished mural of footballing legend
Roy Valk admitted that the Cork midfielder - whom he had just painted with a beard - asked whether his hair was really that grey, as he studied the mural.The artist - who paints all restaurants in the Dutch-founded Fat Phill's chain - was completing a mural on a building facing their new restaurant on Cook Street in Cork."I was taking a photograph when a group of people came walking down the street," Roy told RedFM's Neil Prendeville. "They stopped to look at the mural and I asked them to keep moving because of the photos I was taking."Roy looked up from the camera viewfinder when he heard laughter - and found himself staring at the footballer legend whose image he had just painted."Don't you recognise me?" the Ireland star joked.We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity.Please review your details and accept them to load the contentThe Dutch artist had a brief chat before the footballer said he had to leave to attend a meeting, vowing to come back for a longer chat."He came back about 30 minutes later and we got a photograph taken," the artist explained. "He was very nice and said he liked the mural."While Roy had painted the former Manchester United captain with his trademark beard, the footballer was clean-shaven when he met him on Cook Street by the diner."He did look a lot younger," he admitted.The mural has since become a major attraction in Cork with people getting their photographs taken beside it.While he has produced celebrity paintings and murals before, he has never had such a reaction as that to his Roy Keane mural.Fat Phill's - which is being developed in the former Café Noir premises in Cork city centre - is scheduled to open soon.A street art project has also seen numerous images of 'Keano' appear on everything from electricity junction boxes to walls across Cork city centre.News in 90 seconds - Friday, March 6 The Mayfield-born star is now one of the UK's top football pundits, earning critical praise for his no-nonsense commentaries and willingness to criticise teams with the same no-holds-barred approach he brought to his former midfield duties in the 1990s and 2000s.He started his career with Rockmount in Cork before signing for Cobh Ramblers.The midfielder was then signed by Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest and broke the British transfer record when he signed for Manchester United in 1993.He captained Manchester United to virtually every honour in the game before switching to Celtic.Roy Keane managed Sunderland and Ipswich in England before working as assistant manager with Martin O'Neill for the Republic of Ireland and helping them qualify for Euro 2016 in France.
