{"id":376822,"date":"2026-04-01T17:31:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T17:31:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/376822\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T17:31:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T17:31:10","slug":"tributes-pour-in-for-award-winning-cavan-chef-following-four-year-battle-with-mnd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/376822\/","title":{"rendered":"Tributes pour in for award winning Cavan chef following four year battle with MND"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">In a moving post on its own social media channels, a spokesperson for the restaurant said Mr Lynch\u2019s unparalleled bravery and courage in the face of adversity would live on.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">\u201cGerry\u2019s smile and spirit never wavered, and his wit and humour were truly unmatched,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">\u201cHis 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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">\u201cThere 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">A year or two before his MND diagnosis, Mr Lynch recalled noticing the power in his thumb and first finger was starting to fade.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">\u201cI was busy, but wondered why this was happening. The previous year I\u2019d had a disc operation and thought maybe it was the nerve to my fingers&#8230; 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,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">After two more studies, Mr Lynch was told in a waiting room that he had MND and he\u2019d be lucky to see three years.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tributes are continuing to pour in for the late Gear\u00f3id Lynch.\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/970a9e4f-104c-44b7-b2e5-5c2779507397.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" data-testid=\"article-image\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_caption1 indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_secondary indo-66f0fec7_regular indo-1d70522a_marginbottom0 indo-1d70522a_marginleft0 indo-1d70522a_marginright0 indo-1d70522a_margintop3 indo-b48c4984_left\" style=\"color:var(--color-grey-60)\">Tributes are continuing to pour in for the late Gear\u00f3id Lynch.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">\u201cI was on my own. Can you imagine leaving Dublin that day with this diagnosis? I don\u2019t know how I got home. I\u2019m not a religious person but the next evening I went into the church, where I fell asleep for about three hours.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">Around the same time as his diagnosis, ten people were killed in the Creeslough explosion in Donegal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">The affable Cavan man said its suddenness and how his own reaction to being diagnosed with MND differed greatly from that of former RT\u00c9 chief news correspondent Charlie Bird who succumbed to the condition in March 2024.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">\u201cWhat they would give for 24 more hours with their families, and I was given three years to live again,\u201d he said. \u201cI have time on my side.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">\u201cI\u2019ll never forget Charlie Bird (who died aged 74 of MND in March 2024).<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">\u201cHe was on TV on the RT\u00c9 News, and they were saying he had accepted MND and he had had a great life. And I remember shouting at the TV, \u2018that may be alright for you, I haven\u2019t accepted it, nor will I accept it. You\u2019ve had a long life, I haven\u2019t\u2019. I was so angry over that. Nothing to do with Charlie Bird, by the way. It was perhaps the PR train.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">\u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">\u201cGear\u00f3id never viewed having a restaurant in a small County Cavan village as being an impediment to his success, but rather an asset,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">\u201cHe was a stalwart promoter of Cavan as a tourist destination, even volunteering with F\u00e1ilte Ireland as an ambassador.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">The late Mr Lynch\u2019s funeral takes place on Wednesday at St. Aidan&#8217;s Church Butlersbridge followed by burial afterwards in St. Aidan&#8217;s Cemetery.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">A death notice on RIP.ie said Mr Lynch was survived by his \u201cloving wife Tara, his children Or\u00e1n, 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 Sin\u00e9ad, 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.\u201d  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The father of four and proprietor of the award winning Olde Post Inn in Cloverhill lost his fight&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":376823,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[93,61,60,23576],"class_list":["post-376822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-liam-cosgrove"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=376822"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376822\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/376823"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=376822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=376822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=376822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}