Sarah O’Donovan

when they represent real people.

So there's kind of three aspects to this, three main themes.

One of them is about John Giles' reflections on the Damned United, to which Paul Kimmich says initially he felt like, what's he making this big fuss about?

It's a movie, get over yourself type thing.

But then he has a quote afterwards, which seemed to kind of win Kimmage over onto the other side of the discussion from a number of years ago, from John Giles.

I suppose in some arty-farty sense, it may now be acceptable to write a novel in which actual living people are mentioned by name and placed in entirely fictitious situations, saying things they never said and thinking things that they never thought and doing things that they never did.

But as one of the people misrepresented in this way, I did not find it remotely acceptable.

So it was one theme.

Then he talks about, in the movie, the ragtag nature of the Ireland players and he quotes Conor McKeown from his own review of the movie.

Then there's Ireland's World Cup squad, quite a few of whom were playing in high-ranking Premier League teams at the time.

They're seen in various states of debauchery, charging around their team hotel, letting off fire extinguishers and joyriding golf buggies.

Even appearing mid-karaoke when McCarthy called at the Infos meeting that led to Keane nuking the room.

as though Saipan was a big stag party in a cockroach-ridden two-star hotel.

And then, yeah, just the point of documentary versus filmmaking.

Saipan is not a documentary, he says here, and on he goes.

I just, I really wish Paul Kimmich had watched the movie and then done his review.

He says, he seems to, he makes a virtue almost of the idea that he hasn't watched it.

And I have to say, I have next to no interest in watching the thing.

I most likely will at some point because it is about Saipan.

I'm infinitely interested.