Rockshore Brings Roy Keane Back to Cork in Humorous League of Ireland Spot

There's an old production adage: the bigger the talent, the simpler the story needs to be. But what happens when that talent is Roy Keane, the story is deeply personal, and the challenge is making one of football's most famously intense personalities genuinely funny? Tanja Adams, co-founder of Another, a Diageo production partner for this Rockshore campaign, shares how creative production navigated celebrity authenticity, cultural nuance, and multi-stakeholder collaboration to deliver Rockshore's standout League of Ireland campaign.

Rockshore's latest League of Ireland campaign came with a unique brief: capture local humour with a star more associated with fierce tackles than gentle comedy, while balancing the expectations of a premium beer brand, a national football league.

"Translating this concept from script to screen required what we call 'cultural production intelligence'," Tanja explained. "Understanding not just what needs to be filmed, but how it needs to feel. Working alongside creative agency The Tenth Man and production company Rubberduck, Another's role was ensuring every frame captured the quintessential Cork character while delivering on Diageo's brand standards and Declan Lowney's comedic vision."

​Declan Lowney brought the perfect directorial pedigree to this project. His work on Father Ted and Ted Lasso has demonstrated his ability to find humour, warmth and humanity in sports storytelling. He has perfected how to extract natural performances from non-actors while maintaining comedic timing.

Declan's approach to the Rockshore campaign focused on psychological direction rather than technical choreography. Roy, despite his media experience, needed to inhabit a version of himself that was both recognisable and unexpectedly vulnerable. In Tanja’s own words, “the production challenge wasn't just about capturing the right shots – it was about creating an environment where Ireland's most famously intense footballer could access his gentler, more relatable side.”

That philosophy extended to every aspect of production, particularly location as “location became character in this piece. Cork is a city with its own rhythm, its own sense of humour, and its own relationship with football success and disappointment.

The final spot lands with authenticity and charm. Roy Keane returns to Cork to watch a League of Ireland match, only to find it's sold out. He ends up squeezed into a pub, straining to see the screen over a crowd of passionate fans. It's a beautifully Irish scenario where the famous son of Cork is reduced to the same fate as every other devoted supporter, creating unexpected relatability. His natural timing combines with Declan's directorial instincts to show people’s sheer love of the game.

“It was a truly enjoyable shoot thanks to the Rockshore brand team. We extend our thanks to Anne Zahan (head of beer, Diageo Ireland), James Lace (marketing manager, Beer, Diageo Ireland), Gustavo Levi (senior brand marketing manager), and Winnie Dumell (global executive brand producer) for this collaboration and for bringing us onto this project.”

The result is a campaign that puts the League of Ireland under the spotlight, honours Cork's football heritage, and positions Rockshore as supporters who understand and stand by the spirit of the game, as the official beer of LOI.