Martin was born on November 30th, 1871 in Cave and his baptism took place on March 12th, 1871 in Oranmore. His godfather was John Monaghan and his godmother was Hanoria Brennen. Martin's father was Patrick (Patt) Flanagan and his mother was Bridget (Biddy) Fahy. He had two brothers and two sisters, named Thomas, Patrick, Margaret and Mary. He was the youngest of the five children. He died at the age of 79 on January 25th, 1951 in Ennis. He was buried in Old Graveyard Oranmore.