Fr Edward (Ned) Joseph Flanagan

0702_010601 Fr Flanagan

• Birth Notes
  • Baptised 18-7-1886 Ballintubber.
    Sponsors: Patrick Flanagan & Mary Flanagan.
    
    Leabeg    Drumatemple    Ballymoe    Roscommon    Household    Flanagan    John(65)    herd    Honoria(50)-James(20)-Edward(14)-Teresa(9)-Michael(6)-Peter Larkin(19) boarder/teacher
    
    

• Death Notes
  • While in Berlin, Germany, he suffered a heart attack and was gone at age 61. His remains were returned to Nebraska by a military aircraft and following the celebration of two Requiem masses at the Dowd Memorial Chapel of the Immaculate Conception at Boys Town to accommodate the massive numbers of mourners, he was entombed in the chapel. Several weeks later, President Truman visited the campus and during a ceremony lay a wreath on Father Flanagan's tomb which is adjacent to the nave of the church. It is guarded by a wrought iron gate with an inscription in Latin, "All for the Honor and Glory of God." The plot is known as the Father Flanagan Shrine and he is entombed in a bronze casket, its cover has words and pictures describing the priest and his life.

• General Notes
  • There are various individuals of interest from Ballymoe area but for the purposes of this web page we will concentrate on three in particular. Let us begin with one of the most famous sons of Ballymoe who is the now renowned Fr. Edward Flanagan of "Boystown" Nebraska, U.S.A. He was born in Leabeg, Ballymoe, Co. Roscommon on July 13th, 1886. He  got his secondary education in Summerhill College in Sligo. He studied for the priesthood in New York, Rome, and Innsbruck, Austria, and was ordained a Catholic priest on July 26th, 1912, for  the Diocese of Omaha, in the U.S.A. He founded "Boystown" on December 10th, 1917, which was a home for homeless boys. Over the years he received honours from both Church and State, and in 1938 the Oscar winning Hollywood film, "Boystown" was made, starring Spencer Tracey as Fr. Flanagan, and Mickey Rooney. In 1947 he visited Japan and Korea  to study child welfare problems on behalf of the U.S. government. In 1948 he made  another similar trip to Austria and Germany but was taken ill and died suddenly. His remains are today buried in the Boys Town Chapel. Some of his most famous remarks include "There is no such thing as a bad boy" and he also said "The work  will continue, you see, whether I am there or not, because it is God's work, not mine."
    
    Travelled to US on Cincinatti from Hamburg, Germany, arriving Ellis Island on August 13, 1912.