Edward Joseph Flanagan, born July 13, 1886 Father Flanagan was born in County Roscommon, Ireland, he moved to the United States in 1904 with aspirations for the priesthood. Eight years later, he was ordained a Catholic priest for the archdiocese of Omaha, where he embarked on a long and successful career as a humanitarian and educator.
Father Flanagan's deep concern for Omaha's needy prompted him to establish the Workingmen's Hotel, a shelter for derelicts and drifters. By 1917, he saw the need for a similar establishment for youth and founded "Father Flanaghan's Boy's Home" which evolved into the present Boys Town.
For three decades, the gregarious and energetic Flanagan directed Boys Town and provided troubled youths with much needed love, understanding and hope. Throughout the world, he won accolades for his work and earned a reputation as an authority on discovering and developing the hidden talents of youths who had been discarded by society.
Today, Father Flanagan's legacy endures at Boys Town where young men and (yes) women acquire vocational skills and develop strong moral and spiritual character through programs he inspired.
Near by, across the shaded river Suck, was the town of Ballymoe where they went to church. A few miles off, in Drimatample, was the school-one of the "national schools" set up in this part of Ireland by the English.
