DUBLIN (AFP) –
Thousands of Boyzone fans gathered in Dublin on Friday when the body of singer Stephen Gately arrived home for his funeral following his death in Spain, police said.

People lining the roads outside a local funeral home applauded as a hearse carrying his coffin arrived.

His body had been escorted back to Ireland by the other members of the group: Ronan Keating, Mikey Graham, Shane Lynch and Keith Duffy.

With them on the private plane was Gately's partner Andrew Cowles, whom he married in a civil union in 2006.

Before leaving Palma airport on the Mediterranean island of Majorca, Keating read a statement and spoke of the band's grief.

"Last Saturday, our world changed forever when we lost our friend and brother Stephen."

He said the band and Gately's family had been overwhelmed by the messages of love and support they had received.

"What the future holds for the four of us now is too hard to even think about but we know that nothing will ever be the same without our dearest friend Stephen."

Keating promised an "unforgettable send-off" for Gately, 33, who was found dead on October 10 in his holiday apartment in the Majorcan town of Port Andratx.

Irish police have issued a special traffic management plan to deal with the large crowds expected to attend the funeral on Saturday at St Lawrence O'Toole's church in Seville Place, close to his family home.

Close family and friends paid their respects at the funeral home and there was to be a private family mass on Friday.

Local residents have been cleaning and painting the church for the funeral and the surviving members of the band were expected to hold an overnight vigil with Gately's remains.

The band's website says that Cowles has asked that rather than flowers people should make a donation to a children's charity for which Gately was an ambassador.

A further memorial service will be held in London, where Gately and Cowles lived.

An autopsy revealed Gately died due to excess fluid in his lungs, a court spokeswoman in Majorca said.

"He died a natural death of acute pulmonary oedema" which had nothing to do with any consumption of alcohol or drugs, the spokeswoman said.

A pulmonary oedema, or water on the lungs, can be due to either the failure of the heart to remove fluid from the lungs or direct damage to the lung tissue.

Gately joined the Irish pop band Boyzone in 1993 after answering an advert in Dublin for an audition.

The band went on to enjoy huge international success, but split up in 2000.

They reunited seven years later, but their recent 19-date Better tour failed to fill stadiums, despite offers of free tickets.

Gately also starred in West End musicals in London, including "Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat".