Oliver J. Flanagan (1920-1987) was a senior Irish politician. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann in 1943 as an Independent TD for the Laois-Offaly constituency. In 1973 he joined the Cabinet of Liam Cosgrave as a Minister in the National Coalition government. He served until 1977 and retired from the Dáil in 1987. Flanagan, known as a right-wing politician, famously quoted on the chat show, The Late Late Show, that there was "no sex in Ireland before television." This refers to the changing social order after ther arrival of the medium in Ireland.