Michael O'Flanagan

The Reverend
Michael O'Flanagan
O'Flanagan, c. 1912
President of Sinn Féin
In office
1933–1935
Preceded byBrian O'Higgins
Succeeded byCathal Ó Murchadha
Chaplain of the First Dáil
In office
1919–1921
Vice President of the Gaelic League
In office
1920–1921
Vice President of Sinn Féin
In office
1917–1923
In office
1930–1931
Personal details
Born(1876-08-13)13 August 1876
Cloonflower, County Roscommon, Ireland
Died7 August 1942(1942-08-07) (aged 65)
Dublin, Ireland
Political partySinn Féin
Signature
Websitefrmichaeloflanagan.com
NicknameThe Sinn Féin Priest

Michael O'Flanagan (Irish: Mícheál Ó Flannagáin; 13 August 1876 – 7 August 1942) was a Roman Catholic priest, Irish language scholar, inventor and historian. He was a popular, socialist Irish republican; "a vice-president of the Irish Agricultural Organisation Society, he was a proponent of land redistribution."[1] He was Gaelic League envoy to the United States from 1910 to 1912, and he supported the striking dockers in Sligo in 1913.[2]

O'Flanagan was friends with many of the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising and was vocal in his admiration for the sacrifice made by the men of Easter Week.[3] He was active in reorganising the Sinn Féin party after the Rising. He was the main driving force behind the Election of the Snows in North Roscommon in February 1917, when Count Plunkett won a by-election as an independent candidate.[4]

At the Sinn Féin Convention in October 1917, Éamon de Valera was elected president. Along with Arthur Griffith, O'Flanagan was elected joint vice-president, a position he held from 1917 to 1923 and again from 1930 to 1931. He campaigned for the imprisoned Griffith in the East Cavan by-election in 1918, and was instrumental in securing the seat. For this O'Flanagan was suspended by the Bishop; he went on to work full-time for Sinn Féin and was the main platform speaker and campaigner during the 1918 election.[5]

While O'Flanagan was Acting President of Sinn Féin in 1920, he corresponded publicly with David Lloyd George about peace moves, to the upset of his colleagues. He went on to hold meetings with Lloyd George and Edward Carson in January 1921, and reported British terms to Éamon de Valera on his return. He was President of Sinn Féin from 1933 to 1935.

O'Flanagan travelled extensively throughout his lifetime, spending many years in the United States, and several months in Rome. After five months as Republican envoy to Australia he was deported in 1923. O'Flanagan, James Larkin and Frank Ryan were considered the best open-air orators of the twentieth century.[6]

He was suspended from the priesthood for many years because of his political beliefs and attitudes. In later years he edited the 1837 Ordnance Survey letters and prepared sets for institutions and universities; in the 1930s he worked on a series of County Histories, and ten volumes were published by the time of his death. He died in 1942, was given a state funeral, and is buried in the Republican Plot in Glasnevin Cemetery.[7]

  1. ^ Collins, Kevin (2003). Catholic Churchmen and the Celtic Revival in Ireland, 1848-1916. Four Courts Press. ISBN 978-1851826582.
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