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Privacy Notice It has been quite a year for singer and broadcaster Ronan Keating. His older brother Ciarán was killed in a car accident in July 2023 and he recently revealed he was leaving his roles on Magic FM and BBC’s The One Show. Plus, his wife Storm underwent surgery in the spring. And life is equally busy for his eldest son and former Love Islander Jack, 25, who has swapped London for Dublin. Here, Ronan, 47, opens up about dealing with grief, his decision to step away from UK broadcasting and Storm’s recovery. Meanwhile, Jack chats about why he returned home to Ireland, co-parenting his daughter Maya and making his mark in radio…
It has been a busy year for Ronan and Storm so far
(Image: Instagram/rokeating)
Ronan , there was a big outpouring of support for Storm after you shared a post on Instagram about “a challenge ahead”. Can you tell us more? Storm’s a superstar and a powerhouse. She had an operation related to the spinal surgery she had three years ago. She had a six-week recovery. She is incredible. She was walking the next day, which blew my mind. The operation was a success and she’s feeling great. That post was about showing my support for her because all she does is support everybody else, whether it’s the children, my family, her family or the job that I’m doing. I wanted to let her know that I’m there for her. You stepped away from Magic FM to make more time for your family. That must have been a tough decision… I’ve had seven great years on Magic. I’m going to concentrate on making an album, writing music and touring. We’re going to spend some time in Australia with Storm’s family for a few months. We’re going travelling for a while first. Just you, Storm and your two children together, Cooper, seven, and Coco, four? The older kids will pop in and out. Missy is in New York, Jack is in Dublin working with Spin 1038 radio and Ali is in college. She’s also working at Goffs [horse auctioneers]. They will visit us here and there. They’re all grown up with their jobs and their lives.
Ronan and Storm have a close bond with Missy and Jack
(Image: Instagram/@rokeating)
And you have left The One Show as well? I haven’t done The One Show in ages. I left about six months ago. I had a great time, but I couldn’t fit it in any more. I was doing radio in the morning, finishing at 10am, then going home for an hour. I had to get back in the car and go to the BBC for 2.30pm and be there until 7.30pm, when the show finishes. It was too much. I was going straight to bed when I got home to get up at 4am for radio the following day. It was a conveyor belt. Was there a particular turning point? I lost my brother Ciarán last year and that was the turning point in all of our lives. Storm and I probably pushed ourselves and worked a little too hard this year, so now we can back off from work. We’re assessing life. It has been a very tough 12 months. July was the anniversary of Ciarán’s death and we all went to Westport to spend time together as a family. It’s been difficult. The last time I saw him was at a gala dinner last year. It’s hard to believe. You’ve been back in Ireland for the 26th anniversaryMarie Keating Foundation Celebrity Golf Classic. You must be proud of the charity’s achievements… It’s the most important event in the Marie Keating calendar. It was the first charity event we did as a family 26 years ago. It’s important for raising funds. We are not government-funded, so we’ve to come up with ideas, whether it’s golf events or walking across Ireland. We’ve raised €30 million and all the money has stayed in Ireland. My mam was an incredible mother, but she was just a normal woman. I’m very proud her legacy has lived on.
Ronan took Cooper along to the Marie Keating Foundation Celebrity Golf Classic
(Image: Andres Poveda)
Does the grief ever go away? No, it doesn’t! Every year when I get up at the event to talk about Mum I’ve a lump in my throat. We miss her. She was the anchor in our family. We struggled massively when she passed away. But we’re a very tight unit, which has been very important to us. The charity has held us together as we all live in different parts of the world. We always come together for these events. It must be nice to have the opportunity to speak about your mum so publicly… It’s very special. It’s not what we set out to do, it just happened. We were kicking around the house when Mum died, we were angry, hurt, sad and confused. All of those mixed emotions. And it was my sister Linda who suggested we do something to help other people. We were so uneducated about cancer and so was Mum. She came from a generation that was scared to go to the doctor to get their breasts checked. Like men today, we don’t want to go to the doctor to get our prostate or testicles checked. We are too bloody proud. Women have got over that and now there is an 88% survival rate for breast cancer in Ireland. That change is phenomenal. We never thought Mum’s name would be so well-known or the charity would become so big. We’re very proud. Simon Cowell was in Ireland recently searching for talent for a boyband. What advice would you give budding young singers? I’d say have fun and don’t take yourself too seriously. Do we need another boyband in this day and age? We always need new music whether a boyband, girlband or solo music. Boybands are just as important as rock bands to the industry. They cater to a genre. I grew up with Wham!, they were my boyband. Boybands come in different shapes and sizes, they don’t have to be five lads doing hand movements, you can play instruments. Simon Cowell is fantastic at what he does, he knows music and he gets it. One Direction have brilliant pop songs. And look at the lads and what they’ve done, they’re mega stars. Do you think Boyzone will reunite for a tour? We’re working on something at the moment, I was with Shane Lynch and Keith Duffy recently. It’s not a performance, but we’re working on something.
A Boyzone reunion could be on the cards
(Image: 2010 Getty Images)
Is it a documentary? [Smiles] Something’s coming at the end of the year that’s a very big deal for us after 31 years together. It’s for anyone that wants it, but we don’t know if anyone wants it. It’s been therapeutic, looking back on the last three decades and it’s been emotional looking at Stephen Gately’s passing and when he was outed as being gay by a newspaper. I think it’s going to be quite powerful. Jack, you’ve moved home to Ireland. How is it? Yeah, I’m back in Dublin. I moved back in January and I love being back home. I just got a little bit homesick. I was in London for three years, but Dublin has always had a special place in my heart. I’m living in Malahide with a friend. It’s good craic. The place hasn’t changed a bit. I love Malahide. Sometimes people give you a little double take when you walk into Tesco [laughs]. What are you up to there? I’m working with Spin 1038 at the moment, DJing and presenting. I’ve been training for a month and will be on air. I’m doing a couple of days a week. I want to keep going with radio and presenting and think I might be doing a bit more with Ireland AM . I will keep chugging along. Has your dad been giving you tips? Loads! I’ve been picking his brain every chance I can. He’s finished with Magic FM and I’m starting in radio.
Jack is dad to little Maya Ann
How’s fatherhood? It’s great. I had Maya with me recently and took her to Granny’s, my mum’s house. She had her up on a horse. She lives in England so how is co-parenting? It’s not too bad. She lived in Birmingham when I was in London, which was a two-hour train journey. Dublin to Birmingham is only a one-hour flight. I’m going over as much as I can. She’s a bit older now, so she can do overnights and weekends and I can take her on holidays. Parenting in general is never going to be easy – there are good days and bad days, you just have to go with it. As long as Maya is happy and healthy, that’s all the matters. You kept the fact you were becoming a father quiet! I know! I only told family and close friends. I wanted to keep it private because of the relationship between me and her mum. I wanted to respect everyone’s privacy. Are your Love Island days behind you? I think so, but you never know. The All Stars are happening again next year. I’d never write anything off. As you’re in Ireland, what about doing Dancing With The Stars ? I don’t know, my sister Missy has ticked that box already. I’d feel bad for my partner because I’ve two left feet.Story SavedYou can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterCommentMore OnRonan KeatingShane LynchStephen Gately
