Boys Town founder Msgr Flanagan’s attitude towards industrial schools in Ireland - such as St Joseph's Artane (pictured in 1941) - hardened after his return to the US. This phrase was etched into public consciousness by a 1938 film, Boys Town, a sentimental tear-jerker starring Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney. Boys Town, formally established in the United States in 1921, was extraordinary for the time. Boys Town was essentially governed by the boys themselves, including electing a boy mayor. He had praised industrial schools in Belfast and Artane during his Irish visit, although deplored how poorly resourced they were, as reported in contemporaneous newspaper accounts.

Source: The Irish Times March 29, 2026 17:03 UTC