Oliver James Flanagan (22 May 1920 – 26 April 1987) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Minister for Defence from 1976 to 1977 and as a Parliamentary Secretary from 1954 to 1957 and from 1975 to 1976. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Laois-Offaly constituency from 1943 to 1987. He was elected to the Dáil fourteen times between 1943 and 1982, topping the poll on almost every occasion. He was Father of the Dáil from 1977 until his retirement in 1987, and remains one of the longest-serving members in the history of the Dáil. Flanagan was a social conservative, who famously claimed that "there was no sex in Ireland before television". An anti-semite and

anti-Mason The Anti-Masonic Party was the earliest third party in the United States. Formally a single-issue party, it strongly opposed Freemasonry, but later aspired to become a major party by expanding its platform to take positions on other issues. After ...

, he used his maiden speech in the Dáil, on 9 July 1943, to urge the government to emulate the Nazis and "rout the Jews out of this country... where the bees are there is honey, and where the Jews are there is money" and called for the banning of the

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. Nonetheless, he was consistently popular in his own constituency, largely because of the attention he paid to individual voters' petitions and concerns. He has been described as "one of the cutest of

cute hoor Cute hoor and, by extension, "cute hoorism", is a cultural concept in Ireland where a certain level of corruption is forgiven - or sometimes even applauded - of politicians or businessmen. This phenomenon is sometimes attributed to postcolonialismb ...

s in the history of the Dáil".

Personal life

Flanagan was born in Mountmellick,

County Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medie ...

, on 22 May 1920. He was educated at Mountmellick Boys National School and University College Dublin. He then worked as a carpenter and auctioneer. He was a member of the Catholic fraternal organisation the Knights of Saint Columbanus, and in 1978, was conferred a Knight of the Order of St. Gregory the Great by Pope John Paul I, given in Rome on 20 September 1978.

Independent TD (1943–1954)

Flanagan first held political office in 1942, when he was elected as a

Council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

lor to Laois County Council, a position he would hold for almost forty-five years. He was first elected to

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...

as an Independent TD for the Laois–Offaly constituency at the 1943 general election — the third youngest person ever to have been elected to the Dáil at that time. He had stood for election on the Monetary Reform Party ticket, an anti-semitic and Social credit party confined to his own constituency which proposed reducing the supposed Jewish stranglehold on the financial system. During the campaign, Flanagan wrote to Fr Denis Fahey: "Just a line letting you know we are going ahead with the election campaign in Laois-Offaly against the Jew-Masonic System which is imposed on us. The people are coming to us – but it's hard to get the people to understand how they are held down by the Jews and Masons, who control their very lives." He used his maiden speech in the Dáil to urge the government to use the Emergency Powers Acts to "rout the Jews out of this country": Nonetheless, he was re-elected to the Dáil at the 1944 general election, with more than twice as many votes as he had won the previous year. In 1947, he caused a controversy when he levelled accusations of corruption against members of the Fianna Fáil government, including Taoiseach Éamon de Valera,

Minister for Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

Gerald Boland and Minister for Industry and Commerce Seán Lemass.Joseph Lee (1989). ''Ireland, 1912–1985: Politics and Society'', pp. 296–297. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. A

tribunal of inquiry A tribunal of inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by a government body. In many common law countries, such as the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, Australia and Canada, such a public inquiry differs from a royal ...

comprising three judges investigated his allegations and found them to be untrue. Despite the judges' conclusion that Flanagan had lied to the tribunal, his vote increased by 45% at the 1948 general election. During a 1952 Dáil debate, after John A. Costello had said "I made no reference to an Adoption of Children Bill", Flanagan quipped "Deputy Flynn would be more qualified to do that".Dáil debates, Vol.129, col.273
John Flynn, who was not in the chamber at the time, interpreted this as an insulting innuendo, and later punched Flanagan in the Dáil restaurant.Report – Assault Committed by a Member on another Member in the Oireachtas Restaurant on 31 January 1952
Committee on Procedure and Privilege, 28 February 1952 The Dáil Committee on Procedure and Privilege condemned the conduct of both TDs.

Fine Gael TD (1952–1987)

Flanagan joined Fine Gael in 1952. He served in government as a Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture from 1954 to 1957.Fine Gael (23 October 2005).
Kenny to pay tribute to Oliver J Flanagan
''. Retrieved on 24 January 2008. In 1957, Fine Gael returned to opposition and Flanagan became front bench Spokesperson for Lands. In 1975, he was named Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Local Government. When Paddy Donegan switched departments following the "thundering disgrace" controversy in 1976, Flanagan succeeded him as Minister for Defence, in

Liam Cosgrave Liam Cosgrave (13 April 1920 – 4 October 2017) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 1973 to 1977, Leader of Fine Gael from 1965 to 1977, Leader of the Opposition from 1965 to 1973, Minister for External Affairs from ...

's government. He served as Minister for six months, until Fine Gael lost power following the 1977 general election. He was a representative on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe from 1977 to 1987. Due to ill health, Flanagan did not contest the 1987 general election. His son, Charles Flanagan, was elected to his seat. Oliver Flanagan died two months after the election.

References

Personal life

Independent TD (1943–1954)

Fine Gael TD (1952–1987)

See also

References