Tributes have been paid following the death of popular musician Liam Lynch. The Oldcastle native was a well-known photographer, musician and member of the Lynch Brothers Céilí Band. His niece Noeline Markey spoke to Northern Sound about his life and the contribution that he made to local communities across the Shannonside Northern Sound region. According to Noeline, the late Liam Lynch who passed away at the age of 80 was a "very gifted" fiddle player who had "music in his fingertips."
Apart from the music, Liam was widely known as a "great photographer" across the local area, having setting up his very own photography studio in Oldcaste when he was only a teenager. Mr Lynch took photographs of special events all over Meath, Westmeath and Cavan for almost 50 years according to Noeline, documenting the lives of several generations of his family, friends and neighbours.
"What I remember most about Uncle Liam is that every time we went into see him, his arms would be thrown wide and he would have a big hug and a big welcome for us," Noeline explained. "Liam was always smiling and he always loved a laugh, a joke and a prank. He loved to have a chat and a laugh and that's what I remember most . He never turned any of his nieces or nephews away, we would be under his feet when he was trying to develop photographs but he would show us what he was doing and that's what I remember the most, he never turned any of us away, he always gave us time. The number of people who turned up at his funeral was amazing, and the number of people who said he took photographs at their wedding 50 or 60 years ago and then played music that night and entertained everyone for the evening. Nobody had a bad word to say about him, he was so kind and gentle."
