July 4, 1998, Corkagh Park, Dublin, Ireland, Grand Opening of O’Malley Little League Baseball Field and Dodger Baseball Field privately built by Peter O’Malley. (L-R): Jin Roy Ryu, Little League Foundation Trustee; Ed Piszek, Little League Foundation Trustee; Mick Manning, Baseball Ireland; Jean Kennedy Smith, U.S. Ambassador to Ireland; Mike Kindle, Baseball Ireland; O’Malley; Ann Murphy, President, Irish Baseball and Softball Association; and Dr. Creighton Hale, longtime President and CEO, Little League Baseball.
Biography
Mick Manning
Mick Manning of Dublin has worked tirelessly as a volunteer along with Ann Murphy, Mike Kindle, Barry Sheehan and others for the development of baseball in Ireland. On the invitation of Dodger President Peter O’Malley, Manning joined Kindle in visiting Dodgertown, Vero Beach, Florida in March, 1996 to observe the training camp and instruction methods employed by the Dodgers. In 1996, Manning was a catcher for Ireland’s first national baseball team in the European Championships in Hull, England. Manning returned to Historic Dodgertown in June, 2013 and in 2014, when he as a member of the executive board of C.E.B. (the European Baseball Federation). Manning is still active in Baseball Ireland.