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Family affair: Keane, left, and Morrissey pictured in LA last month. True to You
This Charming Fan

Robbie: I've been related to Morrissey for 32 years and nobody ever told me

How did this not come up at any of the Keane family dinners over the years?

ROBBIE KEANE SAYS he knew nothing about his family ties to Morrissey until the singer shocked him with the news last month.

Ireland’s record goalscorer and The Smiths’ frontman met in Los Angeles when Morrissey showed up at an LA Galaxy pre-season match and afterwards stunned Keane by revealing that the two are in fact distant relatives.

It emerged that Keane’s late grandfather and Morrissey’s father are cousins while the singer’s mother, Elizabeth, lived alongside Keane’s family on Captains Road in Crumlin.

“In filial terms the Irish blood, English heart genetic between Robbie and I is evident,” Morrissey wrote afterwards on fan zine True to You. “His chin is my chin, my chin is his.”

Speaking in Dublin today, where he was launching the “Future Football” partnership between McDonald’s and the FAI, Keane said that the news came as a complete surprise to him.

“I didn’t know obviously until he told me. Then I asked my mother, ‘Why did you not tell me this? Surely someone in the family, in the 32 years I’ve been around, surely someone must have said it.’

“The uncles have been saying it for years but she didn’t think to tell me.”

Since meeting the two have kept in touch with Keane — who was once famously spied at a karaoke night in Malahide pub Gibney’s — getting to know his “cousin’s” music.

“He’s given me CDs of himself — I asked him — and I went to see his gig in the Staples Centre a few weeks ago in LA.

“I wouldn’t say we’ve become very close but we speak to each other, send each other texts and emails. He’s a very nice guy and I’ve got a lot of time for him. He’s a very interesting guy and he certainly loves Ireland, I know that.”

There is a chance, Keane added, that the man who famously sang about his “Irish blood, English heart” might pay a visit to watch the national team in action some time soon.

“He loves watching us. He came to watch one of our games in the Galaxy and really enjoyed it so hopefully we’ll get him over.”

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