Ronan Keating has sent a heartfelt message to his sister on Instagram and he clearly still misses his mum very much.
He said to his ‘skin and blister’: “Love ya to the moon and back LIL have an amazing day we all can’t wait to celebrate with ya when We get back from our travels.”
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The singer has a real ‘live now’ philosophy since his mother Marie Keating lost her battle with breast cancer in 1998 and it sounds like his sister does too.
He wrote: “I would like to say life begins now for ya but to be honest you have always lived life to the max so keep on doing what you are doing.”
But fans were moved to tears by his reference to his ‘Mam’ who: “would be so proud of the woman you are and what you have done for so many people in Ireland and around the world through @mariekeatingfoundation you are such a selfless person.”
Ronan has said about his mum and her cancer battle: “My mother died on 2 February 1998, from breast cancer – she was 51 years old.
“I come from a family of five, me being the youngest, with three older brothers and one sister.”
After she died, the family set up the Keating Foundation, hoping to stop other people losing their life and sister Linda plays a leading role in the charity.
Fans were moved by Ronan’s words about his mum. One wrote: “Happy birthday Linda, your an amazing woman and you learnt from one. She really would be so proud of you. But like you say it’s about family and it’s so lovely to see @rokeating spending time with you all.”
Another posted: “What lovely words @rokeating. Happy birthday to you Linda. Have a wonderful day.”
Ronan finished his post with a message of hope and positivity.
He wrote, simply: “Good things to good people remember.”
Meanwhile he’s said he’s still in shock about what happened to his mam.
“Fourteen years on from my Mother’s passing I look back and the pain is still there, I’ve just learnt to live with it.”
But it wasn’t only pain that led him to help start the charity in his mum’s name. The charity works to increase awareness and support and encourage people when they need to get scans and tests before it’s too late.
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He wrote previously: “Only a few days ago I met a lady who had visited one of our units as she was concerned about a lump on her breast.
“One of the nurses talked to her and helped get her an appointment with a specialist and that specialist confirmed she had breast cancer. The cancer was treated and the lady is in remission.”
He continued, thoughtfully: “The anger is still there…as I now know that if my Mother’s cancer had been detected early enough, she would still be with us today.”