Hibernian Radio August 8, 2026

Hibernian Radio heads to the diamond this week as hosts Mike and Paddy Houlihan welcome Ryan Flynn, the brand-new and first-ever CEO of Baseball Ireland. A Flynn with family roots in County Monaghan, Ryan has spent decades building baseball around the world, from Cooperstown and upstate New York to Olympic-hopeful programs in Guam, a national program in New Zealand, and now Ireland. Ryan lays out his ambitious vision for bringing baseball back to the country that helped build the game in America, growing from eight clubs and roughly 500 players into a sustainable national program with thousands of kids playing, affordable youth programs, stronger clubs, international competition, and eventually a path to the World Baseball Classic. He also explains why he wants to avoid the expensive travel-ball model and keep baseball accessible to Irish kids of every background. Paddy and Ryan discover a remarkable shared connection to Ilion, New York, before diving into the power of the Irish diaspora, the role Irish Americans can play in funding and developing the sport, and Ryan’s plans for a minor-league-style baseball hub near Dublin. Along the way, they talk Hall of Famers, Major League Baseball, Curtis Granderson, Chris Woodward, Little League, the All Blacks, and even a potential documentary series following Baseball Ireland’s rise, essentially Welcome to Wrexham with bats, gloves and a lot more rain. The lads wrap by rallying Irish Americans, especially here in Chicago, to help “bring baseball home” to Ireland. It’s a great conversation about baseball, Ireland, the diaspora, and what could become one of the most unexpected sporting stories of the next decade.