Oliver James Flanagan (22 May 1920 – 26 April 1987) was an IrishFine Gael politician who served asMinister for Defence from 1976 to 1977 and as aParliamentary Secretary from 1954 to 1957 and from 1975 to 1976. He served as aTeachta Dála (TD) for theLaois-Offaly constituency from 1943 to 1987.

Oliver J. Flanagan
Minister for Defence
In office 16 December 1976 – 5 July 1977
Taoiseach	Liam Cosgrave
Preceded by	Liam Cosgrave
Succeeded by	Bobby Molloy
Parliamentary Secretary
1975–1976	Local Government
1954–1957	Agriculture
Teachta Dála
In office June 1943 –February 1987
Constituency	Laois–Offaly
Personal details
Born	Oliver James Flanagan (1920-05-22)22 May 1920 Mountmellick,County Laois, Ireland
Died	26 April 1987(1987-04-26) (aged 66) County Laois, Ireland
Political party	Fine Gael (after 1952) Monetary Reform (until 1952)
Spouse	May McWey ​ (m. 1947)​
Children	4, includingCharles
Alma mater	University College Dublin

He was elected to the Dáil fourteen times between 1943 and 1982, topping the poll on almost every occasion.^[1] He wasFather of the Dáil from 1977 until his retirement in 1987,^[2][3] and remains one of thelongest-serving members in the history of the Dáil.

Flanagan was asocial conservative, who once claimed that "there was no sex in Ireland before television".^[4] Ananti-semite andanti-Mason, he used hismaiden speech in the Dáil, on 9 July 1943, to urge the government to emulate the Nazis and "rout the Jews out of this country" and called for the banning of theFreemasons.^[5]

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 ofcute hoors in the history of the Dáil".^[6]

Flanagan was born inMountmellick,County Laois, on 22 May 1920.^[7] He was educated at Mountmellick Boys National School andUniversity College Dublin. He then worked as a carpenter and auctioneer. He was a member of the Catholic fraternal organisation theKnights of Saint Columbanus, and in 1978, was conferred aKnight of the Order of St. Gregory the Great byPope John Paul I, given in Rome on 20 September 1978.^[8]

Flanagan first held political office in 1942, when he was elected as a member ofLaois County Council, a position he would hold for almost forty-five years.

He was first elected toDáil Éireann as an IndependentTD for theLaois–Offaly constituency at the1943 general election – thethird youngest person ever to have been elected to the Dáil at that time. He stood for election on theMonetary Reform Association ticket, an anti-semitic andSocial Credit party confined to his own constituency which proposed reducing the supposedJewish stranglehold on the financial system.

During the campaign, Flanagan wrote to FrDenis 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."^[9]

He used his maiden speech in the Dáil to urge the government to use theEmergency Powers Acts to "rout the Jews out of this country":

How is it that we do not see any of these Acts directed against the Jews,who crucified Our Saviour nineteen hundred years ago, and who are crucifying us every day in the week? How is it that we do not see them directed against the Masonic Order? How is it that theI.R.A. is considered an illegal organisation while theMasonic Order is not considered an illegal organisation? [...] There is one thing that Germany did, and that was to rout the Jews out of their country. Until we rout the Jews out of this country it does not matter a hair's breadth what orders you make. Where the bees are there is the honey, and where the Jews are there is the money.

— Oliver Flanagan,Dáil Éireann, 9 July 1943.^[5]

He was re-elected to the Dáil at the1944 general election, with more than twice as many votes as he had won the previous year.^[1]

In 1947, he levelled accusations of corruption against members of the Fianna Fáil government, includingTaoiseachÉamon de Valera,Minister for JusticeGerald Boland andMinister for Industry and CommerceSeán Lemass.^[10] Atribunal 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,^[10] his vote increased by 45% at the1948 general election.^[1]

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".^[11]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.^[12] The Dáil Committee on Procedure and Privilege condemned the conduct of both TDs.^[12]

Flanagan joinedFine Gael in 1952. He served in government as aParliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture from 1954 to 1957.^[2][13] In 1957, Fine Gael returned to opposition and Flanagan became front bench Spokesperson forLands. In 1975, he was namedParliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Local Government.^[2]

In a reshuffle inLiam Cosgrave's government in December 1976,Paddy Donegan was moved asMinister for Defence following the "thundering disgrace" controversy, and Flanagan was appointed to the position later that month. He served as minister for six months, until Fine Gael lost office following the1977 general election.^[2] He was a representative on theParliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe from 1977 to 1987.^[13] Due to ill health, Flanagan did not contest the1987 general election. His son,Charles Flanagan, succeeded him in the constituency of Laois–Offaly. Oliver Flanagan died two months after the election.

• Families in the Oireachtas
• History of the Jews in Ireland