He served in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1920 to 1932, representing the Electoral district of Murrumbidgee for the Labor Party.
He was born at Barmedman to mine manager Matthew Flannery and Johanna, née Fitzgerald.
[1] He was a member of the Yenda branch of the Labor Party and served on Bland Shire Council from 1914 to 1917.
[1] In 1920 Flannery was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly as the Labor member for the multi-member seat of Murrumbidgee, serving alongside Ernest Buttenshaw, of the Country Party, and Nationalist Party members Arthur Grimm and Edmund Best.
[3][4] Flannery served in the Assembly until the 1932 state election, when he lost his seat in a statewide swing against Labor.