Sir James Bernard Flanagan, (15 January 1914 – 4 April 1999), was the only Roman Catholic Chief Constable of the

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC)Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the Royal ...

(RUC). Known as 'Jamie Flanagan', he was born in

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

, the northern

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. He was raised near

Killygordon Killygordon () is a small village in the Finn Valley in the east of County Donegal in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. , the population was 614. It is located on the N15 between Ballybofey and Castlefin. The separate hamlet and townla ...

, a village in the east of

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...

in Ulster. Sir Jamie Flanagan was no relation of the other, better-known, RUC Chief Constable, Sir Ronnie Flanagan. Sir Jamie's father was a sergeant in the

Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ga, Constáblacht Ríoga na hÉireann; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the country was part of the United Kingdom. A separate ...

(RIC). In 1934, Jamie Flanagan joined the RUC. In 1961 he was promoted to County Inspector and was appointed an OBE, just before the outbreak of

the Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...

, in June 1968. In June 1970 he was appointed Assistant Chief Constable and in July 1973 he was appointed a

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, becoming Chief Constable on 1 November 1973, replacing Sir Graham Shillington. In July 1974 he survived an IRA bombing attempt on a plane he was travelling in In June 1975 he received a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

and retired in April 1976.The Independent
20 April 1999

Not a 'political' Chief

Although Flanagan avoided political comment, his tenure as Chief Constable was marked by controversy. The police, however, did not control security policy in regard to the Troubles during this period - which was instead decided by the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

. Some felt that the RUC went easy on the IRA due to being manipulated politically. Flanagan felt that some in the hierarchy of his own church treated him with a certain coolness.

Death

Sir Jamie Flanagan died on 4 April 1999, aged 85.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flanagan, James 1914 births 1999 deaths Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire People from Derry (city) category:Chief Constables of the Royal Ulster Constabulary Place of death missing