John Flanagan emigrated to the U.S. in the mid 1950's. He served for three years in the U.S. Army. He was stationed near Paris where he was a correspondent for the Stars and Stripes, a tabloid newspaper for the military. He later returned to Ireland where he studied English Language and Literature in Trinity College, Dublin. He earned a certificate to teach from the Alpha College of English. For his short story The Glazier's Apprentice Flanagan won the Hennessey Literary Award.
