Boyzone - Keating Will Find Christmas Difficult Without Gately

BOYZONE star RONAN KEATING is dreading this Christmas (09) - because the death of close pal STEPHEN GATELY still haunts him every day.

Gately passed away at his home in Majorca, Spain in October (09) after suffering a build-up of fluid in his lungs, leaving his Irish bandmates distraught.

And to help Keating, Shane Lynch, Keith Duffy and Mikey Graham get through Christmas without Gately's presence, they're planning a get-together on Boxing Day (26Dec09) in tribute to the star.

Keating tells Britain's Closer magazine, "It's going to be hard, because we always saw each other at some point over the Christmas holidays. It's going to be tough not having him around. We normally all 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."