Bill Flynn

Bill Flynn: Chief executive of Mutual of America. BACK
William Flynn and his wife Peggy

" It's a mysterious force, it's like gravity; you can't see it, but you can feel the pull of it. It's a feeling of being home and being at one with people- a coming together."

These are the words used by Bill Flynn, chief executive of Mutual of America, to describe that almost indefinable passion that lures him back to the land of his forbears, and to Kiltimagh where his mother's family, the "Stamper" Connors from Lackafinna, had their home. Bill was one of some eighty people of the Connor clan who celebrated their reunion, in the town.

After his sojourn in Mayo, Bill travelled to County Down, to the birthplace of his father, for another smaller reunion. His father, Bill, was an engineer who served in many distant places, including Butte, Montana, before settling down in New York.

Bill then enjoyed a trip around Ireland, to most of the well-known spots. The high point of the tour was a stop at beautiful Parknasilla, in County Kerry. Of course, Bill is no stranger to Ireland; he has made frequent trips, and he is conscious of the great economic influence that Irish Americans have to help Ireland to develop even further.

When he graduated from Fordham University, in New York, Bill served with the U.S. Air Force in Korea. He married Peggy Collins from the Bronx. He then launched his career and he joined Mutual in 1971, having been headhunted for the position of president. A year later he became chief executive officer.

Bill Flynn has retained a great enthusiasm for his job despite almost thirty years at the helm of the insurance business. Now, after achieving so much in America, he is anxious to give something of that back to Ireland. Bill Flynn was determined to learn more about the native land of his fathers. To this end he has studied Irish History, and is now considered quite an authority on the subject.

He has devoted much energy to help bring peace to Northern Ireland. With other leading Irish Americans, Flynn has helped to organise an international conference in Derry on the theme: Beyond Hate: Living with our Deepest Differences. The conference attracted dignitaries from many war- ravaged countries, including four of the Beirut hostages, and the then president of Ireland, Mary Robinson.

He has served on many organisations which have links to Ireland: some of these include Co-operation Ireland, The Irish American partnership, The Irish Chamber of Commerce in the U.S., and The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity.

Bill Flynn believes that best approach to resolving the problem in Northern Ireland is to emphasise respect for religious diversity. He frequently gives examples of the diversity of the American religious experiences to show how this can work. He speaks as a catholic of Irish heritage whose father was from the North and whose mother was from the south, and he is deeply saddened by the violence that divides neighbours and the bitterness that hardens the soul.

At present and in the future, we can be assured that Bill Flynn will do his part to help bring about a just and lasting peace in Northern Ireland. We, in Kiltimagh, can be proud of his efforts

Aiden Burke

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