Ronan Keating's baby Cooper is following in his musical dad's footsteps! The proud dad – who chatted to HELLO! Online before performing at the Global Gift Gala in Marbella, Spain – revealed that his son loves to listen to him and wife Storm sing. He said: "He loves it. He loves a bit of singing whether it is mummy or daddy!" Adding of Cooper, who was born back in April, Ronan said: "He has passed lots of milestones, he is six and a half months now, he is a little legend. He sleeps well, he eats well, he is a great child, we are blessed."
Cooper, who has already visited Australia and Europe, is one well-travelled baby, and his famous dad told us that he was very much enjoying being away in sunny Spain. "It's Cooper's first year here. He's loving it. He's with me now asleep in the buggy, he takes travelling in his stride." Adding, he said: "Cooper is a great little traveler, he has been around all over the place, it's amazing."
Ronan, who was also joined by three older children Jack, 18, and Missy, 16, and Ali, 12, revealed that the family were having a "really lovely" time together before the gala. "My kids are all down here this year and it’s nice for us all to get a winter sun break. We are just hanging out, I wish we could stay longer but I have to be back for Magic Breakfast Show on Monday morning where I have to be up at 4.30am," he said. "It's lovely though, we are having a really lovely family break all of us together."
Having been to The Global Gift Gala last year, Ronan said that it was "great to be back" once again for the second year running. "It's great to be back in Marbella – wonderful. We had a great year last year working with Maria Bravo and working with The Global Gift Gala, we have known them for years, and it was a very successful year last year," he said, adding: "There was a lot of love in the room and a lot of money raised, it was fantastic. The people that turned up made the event, there were a load of celebs who came down, my kids all came down which was great, we had a brilliant weekend."
Maria had equally good things to say about Ronan, who she first met in 2015. She told HELLO! Online: "Ronan is such a sweetheart and a true philanthropist. His absolute goal is to help those in need, specifically those affected by cancer. Like all our "Global Gifters" (celebrity ambassadors), he lends his voice and image to the cause to help us raise awareness and funds for projects he feels strongly about and in his case, breast cancer.
"Ronan works tirelessly to help the Marie Keating Foundation, the legacy of his mother, along with dozens of other causes. We first crossed paths with him at our London event back in 2015 where he performed. He was amazing, and everyone really enjoyed the performance."
The actress also spoked of Ronan's enthusiasm. "We then awarded him with our Philanthropist Award in Paris and then from there we started working on our golf challenge with him. This is our second golf challenge here in Marbella with Ronan. The highlight of working with Ronan is his unconditioned enthusiasm," she added.
This year is expected to be just as brilliant, with performances from a whole host of familiar faces, including Ronan himself. "I am doing a small acoustic which will be cool. We also have the Evans boys – Max and Tom Evans are coming down, there is a good bunch of people and it's going to be a great day."
It will be non-stop for Ronan, who is set to be working right until the Friday before Christmas, including finishing off Boyzone's new album with the rest of the band. "It's the 25th anniversary coming up and we are just finishing up the album . Holy moly, where has time gone?" he joked. The band will also make sure to tribute Steven Gately, who tragically died back in 2009. "We always in some shape or form show our respect to him, always," Ronan said.
It's certainly been a whirlwind of a year for the Keatings: "My highlight of the 2017 has been the birth of my little boy Cooper, most definitely," the proud dad said. And while the family are yet to finalise their plans, Ronan is very excited for the big day, telling us: "I can't wait, I love Christmas, love it, love it, love it."