11:45am Tuesday 8th December 2009
© Press Association 2011
Ronan Keating has admitted the first Christmas following the death of Boyzone bandmate Stephen Gately will be difficult.
Ronan told this week's Closer magazine: "It's going to be hard, because we always saw each other at some point over the Christmas holidays - itt's going to be tough not having him around."
Stephen died aged 33 in October in Majorca after suffering a pulomonary odema following a night out.
To help his fellow bandmates deal with the loss over the festive period, Ronan is planning a Boxing Day knees-up in Stephen's memory.
He said: "We normally meet up on Boxing Day, which coincidentally is called Saint Stephen's Day in Ireland. So we're planning a little get-together that day. We keep each other strong by being around one another."
He added: "The only way to get through this is to look after each other. We're always on the phone to each other, we go for dinner and make sure we keep our minds occupied. We're all struggling, and at the moment we're just trying to rally around one another to get through it."
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