Flanagan << FLAN uh guhn >>, Edward Joseph (1886-1948), a Roman Catholic priest, founded Boys Town near Omaha, Nebraska, in 1917. Boys Town is a private institution for homeless, abused, neglected, and disabled children of every race and religion. Flanagan’s work there was featured in the popular motion picture Boys Town (1938). Numerous institutions similar to Boys Town were founded in the United States and Canada, but they did not all succeed.
Flanagan was born on July 13, 1886, in Ballymoe, near Roscommon, Ireland. He came to the United States in 1904, and studied for the priesthood. Flanagan completed his education at the Gregorian University in Rome and at the University of Innsbruck in Austria. Then he became a parish priest in O’Neill, Nebraska.
Flanagan’s first social service was with a Workingmen’s Hostel in Omaha. However, he became interested in the treatment of boys who were homeless or had broken the law. He died on May 15, 1948.
See also Boys Town.