FARMINGDALE, N.Y. (October 19, 2011) – Adding to what is already a very special year for the Governor Hugh L. Carey Challenge Cup Matches, the Carey family honored William J. Flynn, Chairman Emeritus of Mutual of America, on Tuesday, October 18, the eve of the matches at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, N.Y. Flynn, one of the country’s most decorated Irish-Americans, was the featured guest at a dinner following the Am-Am competition and received the inaugural Four Horseman Award, created by the Carey family in recognition of the Four Horsemen — Carey, Edward M. Kennedy, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and Tip O’Neill — who worked tirelessly for many years on bringing peace to Northern Ireland.

In addition to a long and successful career as CEO of Mutual of America, William Flynn devoted much of his time to help negotiate a settlement to the long-running conflict in Ireland. As part of these efforts, he became a close friend of the late New York State governor Hugh L. Carey, and is a most fitting recipient of this award. Especially with this year's Carey Cup matches being held so soon after Governor Carey's death, the award takes on even more meaning.

William Flynn attended Cathedral College of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, N.Y., and received his M.A. in Economics from Fordham University in New York. He served in the United States Air Force during the Korean conflict and serves as Chairman of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy. He joined Mutual of America in 1971 as President. In 1972 he was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer and in February 1982, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. He served as Chairman of the Board from 1982 until his retirement in May 2005.

Over the years Flynn has received numerous awards and special recognitions, including an honorary CBE (Commander of the British Empire) by Her Majesty the Queen in 2009, in recognition of his exceptional contribution to peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland. He has also received the Ubi Caritas Deus Ibi Award, the highest honor of Catholic Charities; the United Way of America’s National Professional Leadership Award, and the American Cancer Society’s Alfred P. Sloan, Jr. Memorial Award, to name just a few. In 1994, he was honored by the Life Insurance Council of New York as the most outstanding CEO of the life insurance industry in the past twenty-five years.

The list of awards honoring Flynn's work in Northern Ireland is extensive. In March 1994 he was selected Irish American of the Year by Irish America Magazine and was honored by the American Ireland Fund. In November 1994, Ireland's Prime Minister Albert Reynolds recognized Mr. Flynn’s contributions to the Northern Ireland peace process at a Tribute Dinner in his honor. In November of 1999, Mr. Flynn was selected by Irish America Magazine as one of The Greatest Irish-Americans of the Century. Mr. Flynn was among the honorees at the December 1999 Peace Links gala in Washington, D.C., for his help to broker peace in Ireland. In March 2000, Mr. Flynn and Cardinal O’Connor were the first recipients of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Medals, and has served as Grand Marshal of the St. Patrick's Day Parade in New York.

Flynn's presence at the 9th Governor Hugh L. Carey Challenge Cup Matches brought a deserving spotlight on all that he, Governor Carey, and countless others did over several decades to advance the prospects for peace in Ireland.