Members of Boyzone have paid emotional tributes to their former bandmate Stephen Gately on the ninth anniversary of his death.

Gately died of natural causes at the age of 33 in October 2009 at his holiday home in Majorca. His cause of death was later revealed to be an undiagnosed heart condition.

On Tuesday, Ronan Keating took to Twitter to pay tribute to his late bandmate.

He wrote: "I hear your laugh every day bro. That wicked sense of humour still gets me through.

"Thank you for the friendship. Can't believe 9 years have passed. Miss ya Bro your song will last forever. #Wingman #Brothers #Love."

We need your consent to load this Instagram contentWe use Instagram to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences

Keating shared a picture of his tattoo in tribute to Gately on Instagram, bearing the numbers 76 09, referring to Gately's years of birth and death.

Fellow Boyzone star Shane Lynch posted a picture of himself hugging Gately on Instagram, which featured the words: "When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure."

We need your consent to load this Instagram contentWe use Instagram to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences

Keith Duffy posted a series of photos of himself and Gately on Instagram, writing: "There's not a day goes by where I don't remember a wonderful memory of times spent with this beautiful beautiful man.

"I miss you Steo."

We need your consent to load this Instagram contentWe use Instagram to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences

Mikey Graham wrote on Twitter: "9 years ago today. Still can't believe Stephen. Still miss you pal."

Gately, Keating, Lynch, Duffy and Graham rose to worldwide fame in Boyzone in the 1990s.

The boyband have continued as a four-piece in recent years. In May, Keating confirmed that the band would be splitting following their 25th anniversary celebrations, leading to an outpouring of sadness from their legions of fans on Twitter.

They are gearing up for the release of their final album, Thank You & Goodnight in November and their Thank You & Goodnight farewell tour commences next January including a show at Dublin’s 3Arena on January 24.

The album will feature a song in tribute to their late bandmate, a reworking of a demo Gately recorded in 2002 and which includes his vocals.