What started as a easy travelogue alongside the west coast of Ireland has was an epic voyage of self-discovery for Ronan Keating, as reawakened grief he had by no means ‘unboxed’
Ronan was shocked on the depth of emotions the sequence uncovered(Image: Luke Walker, Getty Images)
Former Boyzone star Ronan Keating has confessed that he still hasn’t totally processed his grief after the surprising lack of his brother Ciaran. Ciaran, who was 57 on the time, died in his Ford Focus when it collided with an Audi A3 simply exterior Swinford, County Mayo in 2023.
Ciaran and his spouse, Annemarie – who was additionally injured within the incident – had been travelling to observe their son play soccer. The driver of the opposite car, Dean Harte, acquired a suspended sentence in February 2025.
“What happened to Ciaran, the injustice, the heartbreak, the devastating impact it has, and not just on Ciaran’s siblings, but on his children, his grandchildren, his wife – the ripples, it’s overwhelming,” Ronan mentioned on the time.
Now, three years on, Ronan is launching a brand new TV sequence referred to as Wild Atlantic, which follows Ronan’s private journey in tribute to Ciaran. “It started as a celebration of the west coast of Ireland, the Wild Atlantic Way, the cliffs, the beaches, the people,” Ronan advised Bella journal.
“I spent as many childhood summers there, so it already meant a lot to me.”
But as filming progressed on the present Ronan found that being again within the evocative panorama the place his older brother had made his residence reawakened emotions that he had by no means totally come to phrases with. He continued: “The journey turned about understanding that call, what drew him there, what he discovered there.
“It was a really emotional and delightful exploration of his love for that a part of Ireland,” Ronan mentioned.
Ronan hadn’t expected to find his journey so cathartic, but said the process seemed quite natural once it started. He admitted: “I’ve had a whole lot of remedy since dropping him as a result of I struggled -and I still wrestle. I do not suppose grief ever totally goes away. I do not suppose I’ve unboxed all of it but, to be trustworthy.”
After Ciaran’s tragic death, Ronan campaigned for stiffer sentences to be handed to drivers that cause fatal road traffic incidents. “”We don’t want to see some kid go to jail, whose life is going to be thrown away, we don’t want that, that’s not what we’re looking for,” he advised RTE.
“What we’re looking for is to make sure somebody else doesn’t die because of carelessness. That someone else’s family is not ripped apart.”
Ciarán’s spouse Annemarie, who was critically injured within the crash, suffered with extreme PTSD (post-traumatic stress dysfunction) and survivor’s guilt, her son Conall revealed in the identical interview.
Ronan determined to contain Ciaran’s kids within the filming of the brand new present, too: “That wasn’t part of the original plan, but as we were filming it felt essential,” he defined.
“I wanted his kids to have the space to talk about their dad; to see the places he loved and understand why he loved them. Losing a parent so suddenly is devastating. If this series can help them celebrate him and hold onto those connections, then that means everything to me.”
Episode 1 of Ronan Keating’s Wild Atlantic airs on BBC 2 Northern Ireland on Easter Monday at 6.30pm.
