Hibernian Radio with Mike "Houli" Houlihan

Hibernian Radio Hour Jan. 25, 2025

Flood Bros. Disposal, Madden Funds, Fox’s Pizza, and Local 150 Operating Engineers present Hibernian Radio as Paddy Houlihan welcomes long time Houli friend and accomplice, the one and only Geno Cooney to the show and he does not disappoint. Geno is a long-time undertaker who followed in the footsteps of his father, Thomas J. Cooney, and grandfather in the funeral business. He grew up in Wrigleyville, living atop the funeral home on Southport, where he watched his father work very hard taking care of the Irish families of Chicago. He reminds us of the adage, “You can’t get to heaven unless you go to Cooney’s” and being the eighth kid in a family of nine kids, his adventures in college at St. Mary’s of Winona, “what I remember of them”. Lota of odd jobs after college, including trader at the CBOE, which he left right after 9-11, and his brothers recruiting him into the family business eventually. Geno kicks off the show with a joke of course and tells Paddy of his adventures in magic, comedy, as well as his tenure as President of the Irish American Heritage Center, and through it all we learn his credo: “I just like taking care of people.”

He is an absolute Prince of a guy, a gentleman, and a proud son of  Ireland. God bless Geno Cooney.

Hibernian Radio Hour Jan. 18, 2025

Flood Bros. Disposal, Fox’s Pizza, Madden Funds, and Local 150 Operating Engineers present this week’s edition of Hibernian Radio with special guest this week, Father Ryan Brady, pastor of St. Christina parish in Mt. Greenwood and now also Chaplain to the Chicago Fire Dept. Paddy Houlihan once again is in the host chair and Father Brady brings it big time as he tells us his story, grew up in St. Christina himself where his grandparents would take him to mass and instilled in him a spirit on fire.  Father Brady is inspirational telling Paddy of his journey to his vocation as a priest, and recounts how he left the seminary after two years and then returned a few years later to “take the leap of faith” to finish school and ordination. He sez, “When you do what God asks of you, things just fall into place!” Father Brady’s brother is a Local 130 Union Plumber and tells us the motto of Local !30, “the plumber protects the health of the nation”, and then sez “How is that not God’s work?” Plenty of gems from Father Brady on this show as he and Paddy discuss their mutual hero, Solanus Casey, and Fr. Brady tells us how Cardinal George influenced him along his path to the priesthood and how his girlfriend knew he had a vocation even before he did! Great stuff here folks, big thanks to Father Ryan Brady for his candor and honesty telling us of his journey of faith and we hope he returns with more philosophy and grace in the future. Great show, don’t miss this one!

Hibernian Radio Sat. January 11, 2025. Flood Bros. Disposal, Madden Funds, Fox’s Pizza, Local 150 Operating Engineers, and Global Irish Radio present this week’s continuing salute to our Irish First Responders as Paddy Houlihan takes the reins as host and introduces us to 26-year veteran Chicago Fire Dept. Captain Brian Larkin. Brian grew up in Queen of Martyrs parish and attended Brother Rice before working construction waiting to start in the Fire Academy. He started out at 71st and Parnell on the South Side with Truck 20, Engine 54, for nine years right outta the box. When Paddy asks him what his side hustle was he wisecracks, “Well, I couldn’t go back to modeling!” He was eventually promoted to Engineer and bounced around from house to house, and sez it was “almost like being a substitute teacher.”. He’s picked up a lot of street cred that he passes on to the guys including a trick he learned,  a handful of acronyms for every street from Halsted to Ashland. He tells some great stories about the Academy including how late legendary firefighter Herbie Johnson busted his ballz for forgetting to turn his phone off during class, forever! Brian is thankful for the great comradery of the firehouse and sez, “The people I get to work with are my second family.”

He also gives a shout out to his wife Chris, daughter Alexis, and son Stephen and brings his pal and regular Hibernian Radio guest former CPD Det. Billy Donnelly, who talked him into last year’s Ireland trip, onto the show and Bill promotes the upcoming Emerald Society fundraiser on Sat. February 1st at Bourbon Street to help with their trip to Washington for Police Week.

Hibernian Radio Sat. January 11, 2025. Flood Bros. Disposal, Madden Funds, Fox’s Pizza, Local 150 Operating Engineers, and Global Irish Radio present this week’s continuing salute to our Irish First Responders as Paddy Houlihan takes the reins as host and introduces us to 26-year veteran Chicago Fire Dept. Captain Brian Larkin. Brian grew up in Queen of Martyrs parish and attended Brother Rice before working construction waiting to start in the Fire Academy. He started out at 71st and Parnell on the South Side with Truck 20, Engine 54, for nine years right outta the box. When Paddy asks him what his side hustle was he wisecracks, “Well, I couldn’t go back to modeling!” He was eventually promoted to Engineer and bounced around from house to house, and sez it was “almost like being a substitute teacher.”. He’s picked up a lot of street cred that he passes on to the guys including a trick he learned,  a handful of acronyms for every street from Halsted to Ashland. He tells some great stories about the Academy including how late legendary firefighter Herbie Johnson busted his ballz for forgetting to turn his phone off during class, forever! Brian is thankful for the great comradery of the firehouse and sez, “The people I get to work with are my second family.”

He also gives a shout out to his wife Chris, daughter Alexis, and son Stephen and brings his pal and regular Hibernian Radio guest former CPD Det. Billy Donnelly, who talked him into last year’s Ireland trip, onto the show and Bill promotes the upcoming Emerald Society fundraiser on Sat. February 1st at Bourbon Street to help with their trip to Washington for Police Week.

Kelley Leyden with Paddy Houlihan

Headed back to the vault this week for our New Year’s Day show, brought to you by Flood Bros.Disposal, Madden Funds, Fox’s Pizza in Orland Park and Mokena, and Local 150 Operating Engineers. Paddy Houlihan presides again this week as we look back to his interview with CPD Officer, Chicago St. Patrick’s Day Parade Queen, and Chicago’s Rose of Tralee: the one and only Kelley Leyden. has been working as an officer with CPD for almost 5 years. She grew up in Orland Park, attended Carl Sandburg High School and studied to become an X-ray technician at Moraine Valley Community College. She jumps into a discussion Paddy about what it was like to work ‘Mass Transit’ downtown during the 2020 riots “There were a lot of characters, that’s for sure!” Kelley is now back in the 22nd District working at the ‘CAPS’ office as Youth Liaison Officer and Social Media Officer. She mainly works on community engagement programs, especially with local schools. “It’s nice to see kids actually want to be with the police.” She also visits local Grammar Schools with the’ Officer Friendly Program’ and she explains how it helps to “have a better relationship with the youth.”

Kelley briefly discusses her Irish heritage with Paddy and she gives us some insight into a typical day for the St. Patrick’s Day Queen, sharing some of the social events included on the itinerary she received after she won. “It’s almost like having a full time job..” She goes on to discuss the contest’s history, a competitor’s choice to do a ‘party piece’ and juggling being Queen with working a day job. Kelley ends her third and delightful interview with some advice for young people thinking about joining the Force. “There’s nothing wrong with giving it a try!” A charming lady who we are honored to have back on Hibernian Radio again. Then Houli brings us up to date with this week’s obits and one final joke. Back next week with a brand new show!

This week’s show for Christmas we went to the vault to retrieve this appearance by Paddy Houlihan, as he and his old man shoot the breeze two years ago, give it a listen to discover that not much has changed! Fox’s Pizza, Madden Funds, Local 150, and Flood Brothers Disposal present the Hibernian Radio Hour this week as we take a break for this week’s show with special guest, Paddy Houlihan. Paddy has a long-running podcast with his twin brother Billy called “The Houli’s Hooley“. This father and son duo begin the show by discussing the topic of doing things by themselves and they share stories about specific experiences they’ve had alone like going to the movies and eating alone. Driving at night is becoming difficult for Houli and he mentions a recent experience having to drive by himself at night after some social gatherings. Hibernian Media’s 5th Annual Hooligan Ball Fundraiser was on the horizon then as they look forward to great craic with music from the Larkin and Moran Brothers and more! Houli and Paddy then delve into discussing some of their exciting upcoming projects and new ideas for 2023 that will appeal to all generations. Social media and the online world will have a big part to play and as Houli says himself, “That’s the future!” Our longtime sponsor and dear friends over at Sheehy Funeral Home get a shout-out from Houli this week. It’s no secret that the Irish are great storytellers and the Houlihans are excited for the future of Hibernian Media and the new projects already in the pipeline. Meeting new friends as an adult, dealing with getting older and the exciting future of Hibernian Media are some of the other topics discussed by these two gents. “I’ve been blessed with two very talented sons and a movie star wife!”  – Houli. Throwback to the comical “Who Cares?” segment from The Skinny and Houli Show and these guys bring it back for this week only! “Comedy comes from conflict…”. There’s great banter between these two throughout the show and the craic is mighty throughout! Lastly, Houli shares some of his most recent stories about some run-ins he had with ‘Houli Haters’.. We then head over to the current obituaries from 2024.followed by a well-needed trip to our favorite place known as “Houli-Town”. Another great show for you this week, folks! Merry Christmas!

The recent reports of Guinness shortages are legit, but not because of any political statement, just simple supply and demand. Guinness is more popular than ever, according to National Sales honcho Eoghain Clavin, our as we like to call him “The Guinness Guy!”, who tells Houli “Ever since Covid, Guinness has been going gangbusters, across Ireland, the UK, even here in the US we are absolutely flying it!” We featured Owen on Hibernian Radio back in October of 2023 and we’re thrilled to have him back as he is a wealth of stories. This week, as Christmas approaches, he tells us the story of his home, also known as the “Santa house” in a nearby Western suburb, which he and his wife Alyssa purchased some years ago only to discover the house came with over a hundred Santa Claus statues which they were expected to display on their front yard each Christmas season. And Owen and his wife and kids took to it with a great sense of the ol’ Christmas spirit and have embraced the custom and revel in the celebration. Eoighain is a former bartender and GAA star who met his wife in Washington DC and has many great stories of his work as the Guinness guy on TV and movie sets across the nation when he is brought in to pour the proper pint. Don’t miss this great show with an old friend who never disappoints. More on Eoighan in The Irish Echo story HERE. 

Here’s a shot of the Santa House in all its glory!

Hibernian Radio 12/14/24 Fascinating show this week as our old friend Mt. Prospect Sgt. Nick Mavraganis returns to the show with stories and news of new business he just started, “Dan & Nick’s Buffalo Sauce”. Nick is a veteran police officer with 13 years of law enforcement behind him. Nick and his wife Maria have two kids under two, daughter Athena and son Severino and if that doesn’t keep him busy, he’s also keyed into his career as a cop. He’s brilliant as he discusses the challenges of community policing vs. ‘catching the bad guys.’ He’s a man with a great philosophy, “my heart is still in it”, and a firm believer in training for cops in crisis. Don’t miss this show, he’s a great guest as well as a funny guy, and when asked about his background with the new Buffalo Sauce, “are you a chef/”, he tells us , “No, just a fat guy who likes food!” Check out the Buffalo Sauce at https://www.danandnicks.com/ And give a listen to the one and only Sgt. Nick Mavraganis!

Welcome back to Hibernian Radio where we honor our Irish First Responders. This week’s guest is an old friend of the show and we are thrilled to have him back once again, Retired CPD Detective Cornelius “Neil” Maas, who arrives with over 30 years on the job and tells some tales indeed. Cornelius is quite candid as he spins some yarns about cases he has worked on, mostly murder cases. He goes into great detail on his story of the guy who sent two pipe bombs to his wife and her lover, disguised as a new stereo. Neil has plenty to say about COPA and other agencies designed to make the policeman’s job more difficult and he holds nothing back. Neil’s candor is very entertaining. We are honored to have our old friend back on the show, the pride of Mt. Carmel, Det. Cornelius Maas, you don’t want to miss this one, check it out.

Alamo “Duke” Lynch

Hibernian Radio going to the vault for this Thanksgiving weekend show and Houli takes us back to the last interview with our late friend James “Alamo” “Duke” Lynch,  who was our favorite guest of all time, 18 shows, 39 years Chicago Police, 15 years as Mayor Daley’s bodyguard, Vietnam Vet, Bronze Star recipient and one of the all-time characters and coppers of Chicago. This was Alamo’s last show and he knew it, as his cancer was slowly ravaging him. He tell some great stories on this show including: working as a cop on many of the films shot in Chicago, working with Mel Gibson and Jack Nicholson, ; his O’Hare airport story when he returned from Viet Nam and punched out a Hari Krishna guy at the airport, reminiscing about his late dad, “the Chief” who was head of the States Attorney Police back in the day, Alamo talking about his five kids and ten grandchildren, his RnR in Australia and brief romance with an Irish nurse, shooting the guy in the hospital parking lot who was raping a nurse, and…well Alamo has the  best stories and tells us his favorite cop stories. God bless him, he was the best friend to all of us. Then it’s on to the obits where we mourn our late friend CFD Battalion Chief Mike Miller, who is being waked this Monday with St. Cajetan’s funeral Tuesday, and finally a trip to Houli Town with a dirty joke from our old friend Betty Loren Maltese. Great show!