The father of four and proprietor of the award winning Olde Post Inn in Cloverhill lost his fight for life on Monday after a four year battle with the debilitating condition.
In a moving post on its own social media channels, a spokesperson for the restaurant said Mr Lynch’s unparalleled bravery and courage in the face of adversity would live on.
“Gerry’s smile and spirit never wavered, and his wit and humour were truly unmatched,” the spokesperson said.
“His passion for everything he did touched and inspired everyone around him. Even when faced with the most difficult diagnosis, he continued to show up for others with generosity and kindness.
“There will never be anyone quite like him, but his memory will live on in all of us and the happy moments made in The Olde Post Inn in the years to come will be eternally in his memory.”
The much-loved and deeply admired chef spoke about his battle against the progressive, life-limiting disorder in an interview with the Irish Independent just nine months ago.
A year or two before his MND diagnosis, Mr Lynch recalled noticing the power in his thumb and first finger was starting to fade.
“I was busy, but wondered why this was happening. The previous year I’d had a disc operation and thought maybe it was the nerve to my fingers… so I had a nerve study done, not very pleasant, needles into my arms and legs. I was told it was nerve damage and could take up to three years to repair. Six months later I started to trip,” he says.
After two more studies, Mr Lynch was told in a waiting room that he had MND and he’d be lucky to see three years.
Tributes are continuing to pour in for the late Gearóid Lynch.
“I was on my own. Can you imagine leaving Dublin that day with this diagnosis? I don’t know how I got home. I’m not a religious person but the next evening I went into the church, where I fell asleep for about three hours.”
Around the same time as his diagnosis, ten people were killed in the Creeslough explosion in Donegal.
The affable Cavan man said its suddenness and how his own reaction to being diagnosed with MND differed greatly from that of former RTÉ chief news correspondent Charlie Bird who succumbed to the condition in March 2024.
“What they would give for 24 more hours with their families, and I was given three years to live again,” he said. “I have time on my side.”
“I’ll never forget Charlie Bird (who died aged 74 of MND in March 2024).
“He was on TV on the RTÉ News, and they were saying he had accepted MND and he had had a great life. And I remember shouting at the TV, ‘that may be alright for you, I haven’t accepted it, nor will I accept it. You’ve had a long life, I haven’t’. I was so angry over that. Nothing to do with Charlie Bird, by the way. It was perhaps the PR train.
“The one thing I want to get across is that every case of MND is different, every individual case, every person is different and the pattern of it, the different parts of the body, the different ways it affects people. No two people are the same.”
Cavan County Council Cathaoirleach Cllr John Paul Feeley said the late Mr Lynch would always be remembered as a dedicated family man, successful businessman and one of the most talented chefs of his generation.
“Gearóid never viewed having a restaurant in a small County Cavan village as being an impediment to his success, but rather an asset,” he said.
“He was a stalwart promoter of Cavan as a tourist destination, even volunteering with Fáilte Ireland as an ambassador.”
The late Mr Lynch’s funeral takes place on Wednesday at St. Aidan’s Church Butlersbridge followed by burial afterwards in St. Aidan’s Cemetery.
A death notice on RIP.ie said Mr Lynch was survived by his “loving wife Tara, his children Orán, Lorcan, Emma and Eoin, his cherished mother Maura, his brothers Cathal (Karen) and Damien (Stephanie), his devoted sister Marese, his nephew Noah, parents-in-law John and Marie, sister-in-law Sinéad, brother-in-law Cillian (Valerie), his aunts, uncles, extended family, neighbours and his many friends, especially his colleagues and friends in the chef and hospitality community and his dedicated team at The Olde Post Inn.”