Ed May

Fox’s Pizza, Guinness, Big Corner Tavern, Madden Funds and Flood Brothers Disposal present the Hibernian Radio Hour as we return to our First Responders Tour at our new recording location, Big Corner Tavern, and this week we welcome back the legendary retired 36 year CPD veteran and Vietnam veteran, Ed May. Houli and Ed are old friends who go way back – they’re both Mount Carmel guys and Houli mentions Ed’s kindness toward him recently when his brother passed away. He has been honored with multiple awards including the Superintendent’s Award for Valor and State of Illinois Law Enforcement Medal of Honor. Ed begins by discussing growing up in Visitation Parish in a family of 6 boys and 1 girl and he gives some insight into what that family dynamic was like. He compares the parish now to when he was growing up, focusing mostly on the improvement of the church. He then delves into how his older brother’s death in ’67 in Vietnam affected him but also inspired him to join the Marine Corps in ’69 and he even went to Vietnam himself for a year. He began working on the railroad when he returned from the war and joined CPD in ’76, a few years after he took the police test. He emphasizes the importance of speaking to people respectfully as a cop.and even though he has been retired for 11 years, when asked if he misses it, he replies by saying he “misses the circus but not the clowns..”. He namedrops some of his favorite partners to work with and looks back at his 10 years in the 10th District where he worked before moving on to Englewood for 5 years.  He chats about his family, especially his father who worked on the docks and Ed describes what it was like growing up in a 1 bedroom apartment.  He talks about his experience during his time training at the Academy and Ed shares the story about a standoff he had with a guy who had  shot his partner and later took his own life. “They just call the SWAT team for those standoffs now…”These two friends delve into a serious discussion surrounding the current Mayoral race and why they both support Paul Vallas. “It’s a different world..” The horrendous state of downtown Chicago, the lack of honesty in our media and what the ‘Defund The Police’ movement actually entails are some of the other serious topics these two pals discuss. This Chicago legend and good friend ends another interesting and insightful interview with his thoughts on Mayoral candidate Brandon Johnson. It’s safe to say, Ed May is “a whole lotta copper”! Houli then brings us up to date on some upcoming Irish events including the upcoming play called “Family Secrets” by the Gaelic Park Players which will be running on  April 14th, 15th, 16th and 20th. Then we head over to the recent obituaries followed by a quick trip to the wonderful place we call “Houli-Town”.