Ronan remembers Stephen as a person who had a good sense of humor and recalls how he gave each of his Boyzone bandmates different nicknames.
- Oct 19, 2009
AceShowbiz - The life of late boybander Stephen Gately was celebrated in a funeral ceremony in his native Dublin, Ireland on Saturday, October 17, during when Boyzone bandmate Ronan Keating delivered an emotional tribute, recalling the sweet memories they spent together with the rest of the music act. The private event, taking place at St Lawrence O'Toole church, was attended by close friends and family. Fans gathered outside the building as they listened to Ronan's eulogy.
In his tribute, Ronan recounted how Stephen loved to laugh and give nicknames for him as well as bandmates Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham, and Shane Lynch. Beside recalling Stephen's good sense of humor, Ronan also said how the late 33-year-old singer was very excited about the prospect of Boyzone's new studio album.
Ronan's full tribute can be heard through the video provided after this news. And following the funeral, an announcement was made by Boyzone on their Twitter account that Stephen's same-sex partner Andrew Cowles "has asked that rather than flowers, people send a donation to the Caudwell Children Charity", for which Stephen was an ambassador. The organization itself has established a page for donations, dubbed JustGiving.
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."
