THE POLITICAL SOLUTION: : The Taoiseach was being urged to mediate between Roy Keane and his boss. But this coalition looks a non-runner, writes Frank McNally

It was supposed to be the week that Civil War politics were finally buried. But if politics has lost its power to arouse passions in the Irish heart, sport more than makes up for it. And so, not for the first time in its history, the country was bitterly divided yesterday on the question of who had betrayed the Republic.

Roy Keane's expulsion from the World Cup squad divided brother against brother, almost, as Jack Charlton took the side of his successor as Irish manager, while other veterans of past glories, including Ray Houghton, sympathised with the player.

News of Mick McCarthy's announcement rang out with the midday Angelus. It was a moment for shock rather than reflection, however, and it overshadowed the continuing political drama at home.

By coincidence, 11 boys in green (albeit in two different shades) were presenting themselves at Leinster House around the time the story broke. The Green Party's six TDs and Sinn Féin's five could have togged out as a soccer team in the Dáil carpark. And it would have taken just such a stunt to distract from the dismay which had descended around them.

The Taoiseach, who had tapped the feelgood factor in last Friday's election, which happily coincided with the team's departure for the Far East, summed up the feelings of a nation as he expressed disappointment at the "very unfortunate" news.

In a philosophical vein, he noted international soccer "is a very tough business". But there was also a hint of criticism at the way the way the crisis had developed, as he regretted that "events which are not fully clear at this time" had deprived the team of Keane's talent.

It was clear that the Taoiseach had not given up all hope, however. A spokesman suggested that, should approaches be made, Mr Ahern would be happy to do what he could to affect a reconciliation. But while Saipan slept through Ireland's afternoon and evening, his vigil appeared to be in vain. And even his admirers doubted whether McCarthy-Keane was a social partnership deal Mr Ahern could broker.

Indeed, whatever hopes there were of a reconciliation seemed to be scotched by the FAI's press conference, in which the association supported the manager and attempted to draw a line under Keane's departure, despite admitting they had been unable to contact McCarthy since his announcement.

Honorary Treasurer John Delaney detailed previous demands by the captain, all met. But he suggested the criticism of the Saipan facilities amounted to a difference of opinion, with the management seeing the week there as necessary "R & R" before the serious training started in Hiroshima.

It was the player himself who first raised the idea of going home, Delaney pointed out. And after peace talks had apparently "drawn a line in the sand," it was Keane again who had "crossed that line" with yesterday's interviews.

But the treasurer also seemed to concede that what happened in Saipan was only the final straw for the manager. "There are tensions there which didn't just occur today or yesterday - I think it's a bit deeper than that. It's a bridge too far for him."

In a brave attempt to shift the focus, Delaney asked us to remember Colin Healy, the player who was called up as a replacement, stood down again, and who now cannot replace Keane under FIFA rules. "It's not all about Roy here," said Delaney.

But it was nearly all about Roy yesterday, and the bookies reacted to his banishment the way stockmarkets react to bad inflation figures. Odds on Ireland not winning a game at the World Cup shortened from 9 to 4 to 7 to 4, while both Boylesports and Paddy Power offered to refund bets on the Republic topping Group E or - an unlikely event with or without Keane - becoming world champions.

And in another attempt to stitch a silver lining into the cloud, the Irish Soccer Supporters Association called on the remaining 22 players to raise their game. "They have always wanted to prove Ireland was not a one-man team," a spokesman said. "Now they have their chance."