Oliver J. Flanagan
Encyclopedia
Oliver J. Flanagan was an Irish
Fine Gael
politician who served in Dáil Éireann
for 43 years and was Minister for Defence
for six months. 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 1981 until his retirement in 1987, and he 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". A notorious anti-semite early in his career, he used his maiden speech
in the Dáil, on 9 July 1943, to urge the government to "rout the Jews out of this country".
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 hoors in the history of the Dáil".
, County Laois
, on 22 May 1920. He was educated at Mountmellick Boys National School and worked as a carpenter and auctioneer.
Flanagan was secretly a Knight of Saint Columbanus and in 1978 was conferred a Knight of the Order of St. Gregory the Great
by Pope John Paul I
.
, a position he would hold for almost forty-five years.
He was first elected to Dáil Éireann
in the 1943 general election
as a Teachta Dála
for the Laois–Offaly constituency — the second youngest person ever to have been elected to the Dáil until 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 Laoighis-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 "rout the Jews out of this country":
Nonetheless, he was re-elected to the Dáil in 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 Gerald Boland
and Minister for Industry and Commerce
Seán Lemass
. A tribunal of inquiry
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% in 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". 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. The Dáil Committee on Procedure and Privilege condemned the conduct of both TDs.
in 1954. He served in government as a Parliamentary Secretary
to the Minister for Agriculture from 1954 to 1957. In 1958, Fine Gael returned to opposition and Flanagan became front bench spokesperson for Lands. In 1975, he was named Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence.
When Paddy Donegan
switched departments following the "thundering disgrace" controversy in 1976, Flanagan succeeded him as Minister for Defence
in Liam Cosgrave
's government. He served as Minister for six months, until Fine Gael
lost power in the 1977 general election
.
He was a representative on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
from 1977 to 1987.
For reasons of 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.
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
Fine Gael
Fine Gael
Fine Gael is a centre-right to centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland. It is the single largest party in Ireland in the Oireachtas, in local government, and in terms of Members of the European Parliament. The party has a membership of over 35,000...
politician who served in Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann is the lower house, but principal chamber, of the Oireachtas , which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann . It is directly elected at least once in every five years under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote...
for 43 years and was Minister for Defence
Minister for Defence (Ireland)
The Minister for Defence is the senior minister at the Department of Defence in the Government of Ireland. Under new arrangements this department is being merged with the Department of Justice over which Mr. Shatter will also preside....
for six months. 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
Father of the Dáil
In the Republic of Ireland, the term Father of the Dáil is an unofficial title applied to the current member of Dáil Éireann with the longest unbroken period of service, regardless of their position...
from 1981 until his retirement in 1987, and he 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". A notorious anti-semite early in his career, he used his maiden speech
Maiden speech
A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament.Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country...
in the Dáil, on 9 July 1943, to urge the government to "rout the Jews out of this country".
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 hoors in the history of the Dáil".
Personal life
Oliver J. Flanagan was born in MountmellickMountmellick
Other than that its a 15th-century settlement on the narrow Owenass river with an encampment on its banks at Irishtown. Overlooking this valley with its trees and wildlife was a small church called Kilmongan which was closed by the Penal Laws in 1640...
, County Laois
County Laois
County Laois is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It was formerly known as Queen's County until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. The county's name was formerly spelt as Laoighis and Leix. Laois County Council...
, on 22 May 1920. He was educated at Mountmellick Boys National School and worked as a carpenter and auctioneer.
Flanagan was secretly a Knight of Saint Columbanus and in 1978 was conferred a Knight of the Order of St. Gregory the Great
Order of St. Gregory the Great
The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great , was established on September 1, 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election.It is one of the five orders of knighthood of the Holy See...
by Pope John Paul I
Pope John Paul I
John Paul I , born Albino Luciani, , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and as Sovereign of Vatican City from 26 August 1978 until his death 33 days later. His reign is among the shortest in papal history, resulting in the most recent Year of Three Popes...
.
Independent TD (1943–1954)
Flanagan first held political office in 1942 when he was elected as a councillor to Laois County CouncilLaois County Council
Laois County Council is the local authority which is responsible for County Laois in Ireland. The Council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning and development, amenity and culture, and environment. The head of the council has the title of Cathaoirleach...
, a position he would hold for almost forty-five years.
He was first elected to Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann is the lower house, but principal chamber, of the Oireachtas , which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann . It is directly elected at least once in every five years under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote...
in the 1943 general election
Irish general election, 1943
The Irish general election of 1943 was held on 23 June 1943. The 138 newly elected members of the 11th Dáil assembled on 1 July when the new Taoiseach and government were appointed....
as a Teachta Dála
Teachta Dála
A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...
for the Laois–Offaly constituency — the second youngest person ever to have been elected to the Dáil until that time. He had stood for election on the Monetary Reform Party
Monetary Reform Party
The Monetary Reform Party was a minor Irish political party of the 1940s. It was little more than an electoral vehicle for Oliver J. Flanagan, the long-serving TD for the constituency of Laois–Offaly. As such, it is difficult to draw conclusions about the party independent from those about Flanagan...
ticket, an anti-semitic and Social Credit
Social Credit
Social Credit is an economic philosophy developed by C. H. Douglas , a British engineer, who wrote a book by that name in 1924. Social Credit is described by Douglas as "the policy of a philosophy"; he called his philosophy "practical Christianity"...
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
Denis Fahey
Father Denis Fahey, C.S.Sp. was an Irish Catholic priest. Fahey promoted the Catholic social doctrine of Christ the King, and was involved in Irish politics through his organisation Maria Duce. Fahey firmly believed that "the world must conform to Our Divine Lord, not He to it", defending the...
: "Just a line letting you know we are going ahead with the Election campaign in Laoighis-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
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
who control their very lives."
He used his maiden speech
Maiden speech
A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament.Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country...
in the Dáil to urge the government to "rout the Jews out of this country":
Nonetheless, he was re-elected to the Dáil in the 1944 general election
Irish general election, 1944
The Irish general election of 1944 was held on 30 May 1944, three weeks after the dissolution of the Dáil on 9 May. The 138 newly elected members of the 12th Dáil assembled on 9 June when the new Taoiseach and government were appointed....
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
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...
Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera was one of the dominant political figures in twentieth century Ireland, serving as head of government of the Irish Free State and head of government and head of state of Ireland...
, Minister for Justice Gerald Boland
Gerald Boland
Gerald Boland was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. A founder-member of the party, he served in a number of Cabinet positions, most notably as the country's longest-serving Minister for Justice.-Early life:...
and Minister for Industry and Commerce
Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Ireland)
The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation is the senior minister at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation in the Government of Ireland.The current Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation is Richard Bruton, TD...
Seán Lemass
Seán Lemass
Seán Francis Lemass was one of the most prominent Irish politicians of the 20th century. He served as Taoiseach from 1959 until 1966....
. A tribunal of inquiry
Public inquiry
A Tribunal of Inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by a government body in Common Law countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland or Canada. Such a public inquiry differs from a Royal Commission in that a public inquiry accepts evidence and conducts its hearings in a more...
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% in the 1948 general election
Irish general election, 1948
The Irish general election of 1948 was held on 4 February 1948. The 147 newly elected members of the 13th Dáil assembled on 18 February when the First Inter-Party government in the history of the Irish state was appointed....
.
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". John Flynn
John Flynn (Irish politician)
John Flynn was an Irish politician. A farmer by profession, he was first elected as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála at the 1932 general election for the Kerry constituency...
, who was not in the chamber at the time, interpreted this as an insulting innuendo, and later punched Flanagan in the Dáil restaurant. The Dáil Committee on Procedure and Privilege condemned the conduct of both TDs.
Fine Gael TD (1954–1987)
Flanagan joined Fine GaelFine Gael
Fine Gael is a centre-right to centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland. It is the single largest party in Ireland in the Oireachtas, in local government, and in terms of Members of the European Parliament. The party has a membership of over 35,000...
in 1954. He served in government as a Parliamentary Secretary
Minister of State (Ireland)
A Minister of State in Ireland is of non-Cabinet rank, attached to one or more Departments of State of the Government of Ireland....
to the Minister for Agriculture from 1954 to 1957. In 1958, Fine Gael returned to opposition and Flanagan became front bench spokesperson for Lands. In 1975, he was named Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence.
When Paddy Donegan
Paddy Donegan
Patrick Sarsfield "Paddy" Donegan was an Irish Fine Gael Party politician.He was educated at a Christian Brothers School in Drogheda and at the Vincentian Castleknock College. Donegan was first elected as a Fine Gael Teachta Dála at the 1954 general election. He lost his seat at the following...
switched departments following the "thundering disgrace" controversy in 1976, Flanagan succeeded him as Minister for Defence
Minister for Defence (Ireland)
The Minister for Defence is the senior minister at the Department of Defence in the Government of Ireland. Under new arrangements this department is being merged with the Department of Justice over which Mr. Shatter will also preside....
in Liam Cosgrave
Liam Cosgrave
Liam Cosgrave is an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach and as Leader of Fine Gael . He was a Teachta Dála from 1943 to 1981....
's government. He served as Minister for six months, until Fine Gael
Fine Gael
Fine Gael is a centre-right to centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland. It is the single largest party in Ireland in the Oireachtas, in local government, and in terms of Members of the European Parliament. The party has a membership of over 35,000...
lost power in the 1977 general election
Irish general election, 1977
The Irish general election of 1977 was held on 16 June 1977 and is regarded as a pivotal point in twentieth century Irish politics. The general election took place in 42 parliamentary constituencies throughout Ireland for 148 seats in the lower house of parliament, Dáil Éireann. The number of...
.
He was a representative on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe , which held its first session in Strasbourg on 10 August 1949, can be considered the oldest international parliamentary assembly with a pluralistic composition of democratically elected members of parliament established on the basis of an...
from 1977 to 1987.
For reasons of ill-health, Flanagan did not contest the 1987 general election
Irish general election, 1987
The Irish general election of 1987 was held on 17 February 1987, four weeks after the dissolution of the Dáil on 20 January. The newly-elected 166 members of the 25th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 10 March when a new Taoiseach and government were appointed.The general election took place in...
. His son, Charles Flanagan
Charles Flanagan
Charles "Charlie" Flanagan is an Irish Fine Gael politician. He is currently a Teachta Dála for the Laois–Offaly constituency....
, was elected to his seat. Oliver Flanagan died two months after the election.
See also
- Families in the OireachtasFamilies in the OireachtasThere is a tradition in Irish politics of having family members succeed each other, frequently in the same parliamentary seat. This article lists families where two or more members of that family have been members of either of the houses of the Oireachtas or of the European Parliament...
- The Late Late ShowThe Late Late ShowThe Late Late Show, sometimes referred to as The Late Late, or in some cases by the acronym LLS, is the world's longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster and the official flagship television programme of Irish broadcasting company RTÉ...
- History of the Jews in IrelandHistory of the Jews in IrelandThe history of the Jews in Ireland extends back nearly a thousand years. Although the Jewish community has always been small in numbers , it is well established and has generally been well-accepted into Irish life.-Early history:The earliest reference to the Jews in Ireland was in the year 1079...