Ronan Keating, Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham, and Shane Lynch have been involved in arranging the funeral, which is set to be held this weekend in Dublin.
- Oct 15, 2009
AceShowbiz - Funeral for the late Stephen Gately is planned for Saturday, October 17, his bandmates from Boyzone announced in a post on the band's official site on Wednesday, October 14. "Yesterday, Stephen's body was released by Spanish authorities following an autopsy that confirmed Stephen had died from natural causes. He is now lying in a chapel of rest in a small village in the hills of Majorca whilst repatriation formalities continue," read the message.
Ronan Keating, Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham, and Shane Lynch "visited Stephen's parents in Dublin on Tuesday to pay their respects and confirm the family's final wishes for Stephen. The Boyz plan to return to Majorca on Friday (Oct. 16) to bring their brother back home to Dublin," it continued. "There will be a private family mass in Dublin on Friday night followed by a funeral service at St Lawrence O'Toole church on Saturday at midday."
"A further memorial service will be held in London, where Stephen & Andrew (Cowles) shared their home, at a date and venue to be confirmed in the near future." The foursome then concluded the post, writing "Ronan, Keith, Mikey & Shane would once more like to thank everyone for the great many messages of condolence they have received from all over the world. Seeing the love and warmth that so many people have felt for Stephen has been a true comfort for them over the past few days."
Stephen Gately was enjoying a holiday with his same-sex partner Andrew Cowles when he was found dead on October 10 at his apartment on the Spanish resort island of Mallorca. A post-mortem on his body revealed he died of natural causes due to fluid on the lungs. "The singer of the British group Boyzone died from natural causes, owing to an 'acute pulmonary edema'," the court statement confirmed, adding "there were no signs of violence to the body."
