Oliver J. Flanagan (22 May 1920 – 26 April 1987) was an Irish Fine Gael politician. May 22 is the 142nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (143rd in leap years). ... 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January January 7 - Forces of Russian White admiral Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk. ... April 26 is the 116th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (117th in leap years). ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Fine Gael (IPA , though often mispronounced (approximate English translation: Family of the Irish) is the second largest political party in Ireland. ...

Oliver J. Flanagan was born in Mountmellick, County Laois in May 1920. He was educated at Mountmellick Boys National School and worked as an auctioneer following his education. Flanagan first became involved in politics in 1942 when he was elected as a councillor to Laois County Council, a position he would hold for almost forty-five years. Mountmellick (pop. ... County Laois (pronounced Leash), also spelt Laoighis or Leix (Irish: Contae Laoise) , is a county in the midlands of Ireland. ...

He was first elected to Dáil Éireann in the 1943 general election as an Independent Teachta Dála for the Laois-Offaly constituency. He had stood for election on the Monetary Reform ticket, an anti-Semitic group. The Dáil Chamber Dáil Éireann is the lower house of the Oireachtas (parliament) of the Republic of Ireland. ... See also: Government of the 11th Dáil Categories: Elections in Ireland | 1943 ... A Teachta Dála (Irish for Dáil Deputy, pronounced chock-ta dawla) is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower chamber of the Irish Oireachtas or National Parliament. ... The Laois Offaly parliamentary constituency spans the entire area of both the Leinster counties, taking in Tullamore, Birr, Portarlington and Portlaoise. ...

In Flanagan's maiden speech in the Dáil he clearly demonstrated that he was a convicted anti-semite. He said: "How is it that we do not see any of these Emergency Orders directed against the Jews who crucified Our Saviour 1,900 years ago and who are crucifying us every day of the week? 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 laws you make. Where the bees are there is honey and where the Jews are there is money." Dáil Éireann[1] is the lower house of the Oireachtas (parliament) of the Republic of Ireland. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...

The following year in the 1944 general election he doubled his vote to 9,856 first preferences as against 4,377 the previous year. In 1947 he caused controversy when he alleged that members of the Fianna Fáil government had committed fraud in relation to the sale of the Locke's distillery in Kilbeggin, County Westmeath. The Irish general election of 1944 was held on May 30, 1944, three weeks after the dissolution of the Dáil on May 9. ... County Westmeath (An Iarmhí in Irish) is a county situated in the Irish Midlands, in the western part of the province of Leinster. ...

In the Locke Tribunal Report these allegations were proved to be unfounded and the Tribunal censured Flanagan for lying. The Judges said that Flanagan was "very uncandid and much disposed to answer unthinkingly and as if he were directing his replies elsewhere than to the Tribunal." In the 1948 general election his vote soared even more, unsurprising given the ignorance, anti-Semitism and Roman Catholic integralism of the Irish electorate. The Irish general election of 1948 was held on February 4, 1948. ...

Flanagan remained an Independent until 1950 when he joined Fine Gael. Four years later he joined the government as a Parliamentary Secretary. In 1958 Fine Gael were in Opposition and Flanagan became front bench spokesperson on Lands. In 1976 Flanagan was appointed Minister for Defence by Liam Cosgrave, following Paddy Donegan switching Departments after his "thundering disgrace" remark. He served in this position until 1977. Flanagan remained a TD until 1987 when he retired from politics due to ill health. In the 1987 general election, his son Charles Flanagan was elected to succeed him . Fine Gael (IPA , though often mispronounced (approximate English translation: Family of the Irish) is the second largest political party in Ireland. ... A Minister of State, in the Republic of Ireland, is a junior minister of non-cabinet rank, attached to one or more Departments of State of the cabinet. ... Liam Cosgrave (Irish name Liam Mac Cosgair) (born April 13, 1920), served as the fifth Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland between 1973 and 1977. ... Paddy Donegan (October 29, 1923 - November 26, 2000) was an Irish Fine Gael politician. ... The Irish general election of 1987 was held on February 17, 1987, four weeks after the dissolution of the Dáil on January 20. ... Charles Flanagan (born November 1956 is a former Irish Fine Gael politician. ...

Flanagan, known as a right-wing politician and a sort of Catholic fundamentalist clown, was famously quoted on the chat show, The Late Late Show, that there was "no sex in Ireland before television". Flanagan was secretly a Knight of Columbanus, and in 1978, was conferred a knighthood of the Order of St. Gregory the Great by the-then Pope John Paul I, a mostly unknown fact which makes that particular pope's brief papacy and early demise much less upsetting to ponder. For the American late-night talk show, see The Late Late Show (CBS). ... Pope John Paul I (in Latin ), born Albino Luciani (October 17, 1912 – September 28, 1978), reigned as pope and as sovereign of Vatican City from August 26, 1978 to September 28, 1978. ...

Political career

This page incorporates information from the Oireachtas Members Database