Roy Keane delivered a moving eulogy to his late mother, Marie, at her funeral on Tuesday. The sad news of her death was confirmed on Friday afternoon, with the family announcing that she had died peacefully while surrounded by loved ones at Marymount Hospice in Cork, Ireland. Keane was scheduled to be on punditry duties for ITV at England’s game against Uruguay that evening, but was replaced by the broadcaster in light of his mother’s death.

Marie’s funeral took place in Cork on Tuesday, with Keane joined by mourners to celebrate her life at the Church of the Resurrection in Farranree. In a moving address, the former Manchester United captain told the funeral mass that losing her felt like the family had their “hearts ripped out of their chest”, according to The Sun.

Keane also said that he was going against the wishes of his “kind and caring” mother by “making a fuss” about her.

He told mourners: “I know our mam wouldn’t want us to make a fuss today, and I very rarely went against her wishes, but I am today.”

Keane recalled how Marie was known as a wonderful “wife, daughter, sister-in-law, grandmother, great-grandmother, et cetera”. He added: “She was pretty good at all of them, but as a mother she excelled.”

The former footballer explained that because Marie was the second eldest in a family of nine, she had a lot of responsibility from an early age. Romance came calling in the form of Keane’s father, Mossie, when she was a young adult.

“One day her brother brought back the handsome teenager, Mossie Keane,” he said, according to the Cork Beo.

“Standing in her living room, she was in love. They [went on to have] five children. She would say six, including my Dad, as he was spoiled more than any of us.”

Keane admitted that he and his siblings, Denis, Johnson, Hilary and Pat, “weren’t ready for Mam to go” and said they often wondered about which of them was her favourite child.

“Denis, being the eldest, always thought it could be him,” he said. “Pat was the youngest. Maybe him. Hilary being the only girl, possibly. I am not sure where that left Johnson and myself, but she was loyal to all of us.”

Keane described his mother as “pretty strict” and smiled as he remembered the time she “chased some lads down the street who had robbed a tree from our bonfire”.

He added: “She sprinted off and caught them and came back dragging the tree behind her. It was very impressive.”

Keane also reflected on Marie’s trademark “wicked sense of humour”, which he said was intact until the very end. He said that while it had been a difficult few years for his mother, she had never voiced any complaints.

“I never heard her complain once in all that time, not once,” he said. “What a woman she was. Ultimately, our Mam and Dad were at their happiest when they were together and they are together again.

“God bless, Mam, and thanks for everything you did for us.”