Gately family's fury over 'untrue' book comments

The devastated family of tragic Boyzone star Stephen Gately has reached out to the community in his hometown - insisting he had nothing to do with negative comments about the area in his new book.

The singer passed away last year (09) before he completed The Tree of Seasons, which was finished with the help of his partner Andrew Cowles and his bandmates.

The book makes reference to a district of Dublin, Ireland where the singer was raised, allegedly branding it impoverished and a hotbed of "terrorist activity" - sparking fury from local residents.

But the tragic star's family is adamant Gately was not responsible for the comments - they insist the remarks are contained in the book's "acknowledgements" section, which was written after his death last October (09).

A statement reads, "The family of the late Stephen Gately (R.I.P) are aware of the upset which has been caused to the local community, and to themselves, where Stephen grew up, as a result of printed comments made in the 'Acknowledgement Section' of his book The Tree of Seasons.

"In particular, the family are upset at comments made suggesting that the area, where Stephen grew up, is one of 'the poorest parts of Dublin City' and 'during the 1980s was a place of Civil unrest and Terrorist activity'. These comments have understandably upset people in the community and the Gately family themselves.

"The Gately family wish to make it clear that these statements are not correct and do not reflect the views of the family themselves. In addition, Stephen himself has no input into the acknowledgement section of the book and the family are satisfied that these views do not reflect those of their beautiful son Stephen... The family are completely devastated by the loss of their son and brother, so suggestions, that have also been published in magazines, newspapers and/or said in interviews, that 'He had a difficult upbringing and as an adult emerged a little damaged' and 'He had a fear of ending up back at Sheriff Street' have deeply hurt his grieving mother and father (Margaret and Martin)."