Ronan Keating, the Irish singing sensation and television star of The X Factor, is out in the high seas in support the Marie Keating Foundation and breast cancer research. Ronan is now with Olympian Steve Perry and other celebrities in a bold attempt to cross the Irish Sea from North Wales to Dublin, Ireland.

To millions of fans worldwide, Ronan is known for his amazing voice and personable demeanor.

Mike Lewis had the good fortune of helping Ronan hone his open water swimming skills this past July in Los Angeles. This is his account:

“Although I was familiar with some of his music, I didn’t know what to expect when we met for the first time at the Santa Monica Swim Center. What I quickly learned is that Ronan is very committed to helping others and has been regularly making concerted efforts in accepting challenges to support philanthropic causes.

Ronan impressed me with his seriously hard work and commitment to developing the skills to be a part of this effort. Following his work in Los Angeles, Ronan headed back to the UK where he was going to be touring with his band throughout the weeks leading up to the swim.

I urged him to continue his training. He had already committed to working with trainer while on the tour. When I was over in England a few weeks ago for the London 10K Marathon Swimming Invitational, I received a message that he was still training and his commitment was strong. It’s inspiring to see someone like Ronan, who’s had tremendous professional success, seek new challenges in open water swimming. As I write this, he’s out there with his team. Let send him some good vibes. Find out more about the charity effort at: http://tinyurl.com/3lgpzvy.”

Photograph by Peter Byrne/PA Wire.

Copyright © 2011 by Open Water Source