PANAJI
Veteran journalist and sportsperson of yesteryears, Cyril D'Cunha passed away after weeks of age-related ill-health on Wednesday, his family said.
D'Cunha began his journalistic journey in Goa back in the 1960s and rose to become the News Editor of The Navhind Times before he formally retired in the early 1990s. He also wrote from and about Goa in several outstation publications, including Mumbai's famed 'The Afternoon Despatch & Courier', the tabloid newspaper of Behram Contractor (Busy Bee). He was the founder editor of The Konkan Mail, Goa’s first bilingual weekly in English and Konkani, and Goal, Goa’s first sports fortnightly. He was also the editor of Vishal Jagruti. D'Cunha also worked for The Times of India, Free Press Journal, Financial Express, The Indian Post and Independent. His international work includes writing for Tribuna (Macau), Noticias de Portugal, a news agency in Portugal, and NCWC news agency in the United States.
Last year, he was conferred the 'Lifetime Achievement Award' in journalism by the State government in the inaugural year of the award's inception.
D'Cunha was also a keen sportsman in his younger days and was the captain of the Goa senior hockey team which participated in the Senior national championship held at Madurai in 1967.
D'Cunha was the founder president of the Sports Journalists Association of Goa and founder member of Goa Union of Journalists, Goa Football Association and the Goa Amateur Athletic Association. He authored the book ‘Soccer and Goa’, a state government publication that documents the history of Goan football.
The Goa Union of Journalists conveyed its sincere sympathies to D'Cunha's family. His mortal remains will be brought to his home at Journalist Colony in Porvorim on Thursday afternoon and the funeral will be held thereafter at the Holy Family Church, Porvorim, at 4.30 pm.
