Elwardo EG Lynch, the political activist whose hosting of the New Democratic Party’s weekday radio programme, “New Times”, helped to revive the party after the defeat in the 2001 general elections died Wednesday morning, a well-placed source has told I-Witness News.
He was 67.
Lynch was a resident of a nursing home for some time after suffering a series of strokes, including a stroke suffered on air in 2012 while hosting New Times.
While Lynch’s radio style helped to revive the NDP, he also caused NICE Radio, on which the programme was broadcast, to pay Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves some EC$206,000 for defamation.
The station was made to pay after Gonsalves sued for defamation, stemming from comments Lynch made about financing of a trip to Rome for members of the Prime Minister’s family.
Members of the public also contributed to the raising of the EC$206,000.
My deepest condolences to EG’s family on his passing. It is my hope and trust that during his conscious life that he would have found a saviour and redeemer in the person of Christ Jesus. Nonetheless, he will be sadly missed.
As far as hosting the New Times Programme there would only be one EG Lynch- a rather unique radio personality with his own style and brand of communicating and bringing serious national issues to the fore ; He revived, resuscitated, and breathed life into the NDP that was humbled on tow occasions by the ULP particularly after the 2005 general elections.
EG knew when a caller to the programme was going off track and so had to be cut off immediately or when a caller could not allowed to get away without a statement without being pressed for further clarification. He was one of a kind- exciting,fearless, engaging, intelligent, self-confident, assertive, and motivational.
I wish to convey my sincere condolences to the family, wife and children, and other relatives of Mr. Eduardo G. LYNCH on his recent passing.
He very early exhibited unusual talent, rising in St. Vincent Calypso King circa 1964 as “LORD TEACH”.
He was engaging and dynamic WEST INDIAN HISTORY night school tutor, and supremely masterful at making an ordinary kaiso composition turn into a masterpiece.
He and I had some tension over an eggregious indiscretion he committed against our family estate while working in the Georgetown Town Board under the NDP administration, while I was away from home, but we overcame this difference enough to discuss politico-socio-economic issues particularly in SVG. Much later on, when I discovered his initial sight and other health situation, I conceeded to my immediate family members that I had decided to forgive him for his indiscretion against us, but the legal facts are still there on the ground for legal-civil litigation. That’s the stunning effect this guy had on me, despite my incensed consternation in a most vexing matter.
While I was teaching at the Georgetown Secondary School, I used to refrain from going on to my lunch at home in Brownstown, and stay off at the ROSS’s shed for a delicious ital snack while I listened to EG Lynch do his intriguing stuff on NICE RADIO with his NDP “New Times” programme. He had that unique, ENGAGING style of speaking and a quick intelligence.
Eduardo Lynch rose from a serious fall from grace, even incarceration, to strod our national political and mass communication stage. That, for me, is a most telling quality of a real man. He had not followed the crucial political campaigns while he was sojourning in New York, so that he missed the early ‘nuances’ of how to say decidedly “dangerous” political things without getting into libel-slander hot water. His personal stubborness prevented him from “seeing” that he could be sued for saying something which someone else [the PM] had told him in person at Sion Hill. His weakness in the law, at least at first, did not allow him to properly qualify and condition his heated remarks on the actual payments for his political nemesis’s trip to Rome with a family contingent. Regrettably, he, NDP and NICE RADIO suffered financially as a result. Thankfully, Lynch learned from these harsh experiences, and became much more circumspect later on.
He was successful in making a quite significant contribution to this NATION, and in tremendously helping to encourage the survival of the traditional SVG two-party political system when our polity was threatened by an insurgent marxist-leninist control of the other party and the fall from power of the Mitchelite NDP. He, himself, had been a founding member along with Juliian Bucky BOYEA, inter alia, of Ralph Gonsalves’ UPM-break-away political party, the Movement for National Unity *MNU”.
i found a similarly sharp mind, articulateness and fluency in his daughter who crossed any perceived familial animosity and engagingly initiated very scintillating conversations with me on a couple of her visits to her neighboring Georgetown Secondary School.
I believe his close family members include Godwin Oliver Augustus Billy, Bertram “Breeze” Billy, Ken Billy, Renwick “Rasta-Bean” Daniel, and Daniel, former political candidate in North Windward. I can remember, as a very small boy, whenever my childhood pal, Bastan, would catch a mere glimpse of his Uncle Elrado and would become deeply penitent and even afraid of some possible scolding or other discipline from that quarter. I, too, came to have a certain awe or respect for that masculine figure in my pal;s relative.
Quite interestingly, IF the ESPAGNOL POINT- SANDY BAY-BIABOU Daniel clan are related to the Basin Hole-Langley Park-Georgetown DANIELs, then E.G. Lynch and Joel Mongomery Daniel may be blood cousins. I do hope that his principal has a sense of humour, and that no retributions occur as a result.
Incidentally, I count Elrado Lynch as a paternal cousin, also.
E.G. LYNCH, without any specialist formal training in journalism or professional mass communications, has nevertheless excelled in this career field. It is might have been very interesting to view him in another journalistic arena, where he was not limited to party political programming. I first really spotted this Vincentian national’s outstanding speaking talents at his HISTORY evening classes at the august Georgetown Government (Primary) School. He has not disappointed me at all in this aspect of his short life on earth. I do hope that all his children inherit and fully develop like talents. My best wishes to you all, and the rest of the immediate family and other relatives.
When our mutual friend in the central USA calls and raps this sad passing with me, my response will definitely be, inter alia: E.G. Lynch has more than paid his dues to SVG!
E.G. Lynch, a man with his own biographic contradictions, foibles and all – – – but a man who bravely trod the national stage of St.Vincent and the Grenadines.
Eduardo LYNCH stylishly made his remarkable contribution to SVG.
MAY HE REST IN PEACE.
Condolences to his family. May his soul rest in peace. Thankful for his contribution to SVG.
R.I.P E.G…Thoroughly enjoyed many segments of “New Times” when you were hosting…can’t say I agree with everything you stated…but for the most part, I listened to New Times religiously getting all the political “melee”, breaking news, and some enlightening views on the political landscape of Vincyland.
New Times has never been the same after your departure…as a matter of fact, no one can and could replace the indomitable E.G Lynch. Nowadays, I can’t tell when last I listened to “New Times”…the program has gone down the drain.
I can’t help thinking, that the onset of illness was precipitated by the flurry of legal issues taken by Ralph Gonsalves against E.G and Nice Radio…its most unfortunate that all the suing took place…different place and time, I doubt we would have seen any action taken to courts…this was simply a personal vendetta to get back at the most fierce critics of the Gonsalves Administration.
” I have departed from this planet and I have left behind my poor earthly ones with their occupations which are as many as they are useless; at last I am living in the scintillating splendor of the stars, each of which used to seem to me as large as millions of suns”.
My deepest condolences to the family may u find comfort in this your time of bereavement n put your trust in God