Boyzone's Shane Lynch has revealed that the night before Stephen Gately’s funeral, the four remaining members of the band stayed overnight in the church to keep him company.
Lynch made the revelation during an interview on BBC with Fern Britton, during which he discussed his Christian faith and how it helped him cope with the loss of his friend.
Stephen passed away due to an undiagnosed heart defect while on holiday with his husband Andrew Cowles in 2009.
Lynch said that Stephen never liked the dark and his mother worried about his body being by itself in the church so himself, Ronan, Keith, and Mikey decided to camp out next to the coffin inside St Laurence O'Toole Church in Dublin's North Inner City.
‘We got our sleeping bags, the priest came in with some wine for us and at about 12 o’clock at night we were starving hungry,’ said Shane.
He revealed that none other than Daniel O'Donnell came to their rescue with food supplies.
"We didn’t think of food but then there was a knock on the church door and no word of a lie, but in came Daniel O’Donnell with a load of fish and chips"
Shane also said that despite the sadness of the occasion, it was a special night for the four bandmates.
"We sat and ate and laughed and joked and just told amazing stories, about Steo. It was an amazing thing to do, a magical thing to do. We saw him off with joy and not sorrow".
Lynch - who's a keen rally enthusiast - also discussed a near fatal car crash involving himself and Keith Duffy.
The two escaped unharmed, however he joked that the fireman at the scene said to them "Well lads. Can't sing, can't dance and can't flipping drive either".
