The Irishwoman with insider access to the Matildas
If Vera Pauw wants any ‘special intel’ on the individual strengths of Ireland’s opening round opponents she will find few Irish people better acquainted with them than Dubliner Shauna Keogh.
An Emmy-nominated film-maker from Tallaght who produced sports content for Fox Sport and ESPN during her 12 years in America, Keogh has lived in Sydney for the past six and was one of the producers of ‘Matildas – The World At Our Feet’, the six-part Disney+ docuseries that has charted the progress of the Australian team, ahead of this World Cup.
Observational documentaries (‘obvs docs’ in TV vernacular) are Keogh’s speciality.
She produced Virgin Media’s hit series ’Inside The K’ about gardaí in Dublin and ‘Cora’, her one-hour special on Cora Staunton’s journey in the AFLW was also critically acclaimed.
Her independent TV production company Empire Elite juggles multiple projects and collaborations but she spent a lot of the past two years working on the high-profile Matildas’ documentary, giving her great insight into the players Ireland face first day out.
“To get to be part of a six-part series made for Disney around a female sports team was a no-brainer, I jumped at the chance. I’ve been pushing to do female sporting content for years but it’s really difficult to get commissions,” Keogh says.
The fly-on-the-wall series, which was released in late April, followed the Aussie women during a particularly difficult period.
Tony Gustavsson, their Klopp-like Swedish manager who was previously assistant coach to USA’s women, had just arrived and was adamant that they could only progress by playing the top teams in the world.
He also decided, with the World Cup on the horizon, to rest many of their superstars at a critical juncture, two
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