Flannery was born on 2 April 1928. He attended
St. Joseph's Nudgee College and became a schoolboy sprint champion.
Playing career Flannery started playing football in the
Ipswich Rugby League for the Brothers club. Although prone to injury, he made his debut for
Queensland in 1948 and won his first
Australian cap in the second
Ashes Test of 1950, when Australia beat
Great Britain 15–3 at the
Brisbane Cricket Ground. He is listed on the
Australian Players Register as Kangaroo No. 279. Flannery also played Test football in 1951 and 1952. During the
1951 French rugby league tour of Australia and New Zealand, Flannery played in Australia's victory in the second Test. On the 1952-53 Kangaroo tour, he scored 23 tries in 14 games, including
hat-tricks against
Featherstone Rovers,
Doncaster and
Hull Kingston Rovers. In 1954
rugby football's first
World Cup tournament was to be played in
France. While playing as a three-quarter back for Ipswich's Brothers club, Flannery was selected for the Australia's
1954 Rugby League World Cup squad which failed to make the final. He continued to represent Queensland and Australia until 1956, retiring from representative football after the 1956–1957
Kangaroo tour. In total, he played 15 international games for Australia, including two World Cup games. Flannery continued with Ipswich Brothers, serving as
player-coach in 1957 and 1958 before retiring at the age of 30.
Post-playing Flannery married Norma Dempsey, daughter of the former rugby great
Dan Dempsey. Flannery and his wife ran the Ulster Hotel in
Ipswich, formerly owned by Dan Dempsey, for 58 years. Their son, Denis, died of a childhood disease in 1970. In June 2008, the centenary year of
rugby league in Australia, Flannery was named on the wing of the
Queensland Rugby League's Team of the Century, recognised for his "sweet side-step and swerve". Flannery died in his
Flinders View, Queensland nursing home on Sunday, 12 February 2012, aged 83. ==References==