Pop star Keith Duffy has said his faith helped him through the “dark and difficult” period following the death of his Boyzone bandmate Stephen Gately.
Speaking to the Sunday Independent, the singer said he suffered “horrendous” nightmares after Gately’s death in 2009 and would drink heavily because “when you pass out drunk you don’t dream”.
Asked what helped him through it, Duffy said: “My faith. It was my faith that made me cop on to myself – and sleep again.”
He also spoke of turning to the Rosary in that period, praying decades at night in the hope of finally being able to sleep, and revealed tattoos of the Virgin Mary on both arms.
“I believe in Jesus. I believe in Mary. I believe in God. Jesus is my friend and we talk,” he said.
Mr Duffy, who grew up in Donaghmede and served as an altar boy at Holy Trinity Church, said faith continues to guide him today.
