# Ken O'Flynn

Kenneth Noel O'Flynn (born 1978/1979) is an Irish Independent Ireland politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Cork North-Central constituency since the 2024 general election. O'Flynn was previously a member of Cork City Council between 2008 and 2024.

## Career
### Local politics
#### Fianna Fáil (2008–2020)

O'Flynn became a Fianna Fáil councillor in 2008 after being co-opted, when his brother Gary O'Flynn resigned. In June 2017, O'Flynn revealed that he owned 42 flats in London's Docklands as part of his annual declaration of interests. O'Flynn's assets also included properties in Ireland and Spain, such as six business units in Marbella, an apartment in Limerick, a house in Dublin, and various business premises in Cork, including locations on the Mallow Road, Mahon, and Kilnap. O'Flynn declined to comment further on the details. A report from RTÉ's investigations unit from the previous year noted that O'Flynn, along with other councillors, had omitted properties from his ethics declaration, including some of the same ones listed in his 2017 declaration.

#### Independent (2020–2024)

Ken O'Flynn remained with Fianna Fáil for 16 years until his resignation in January 2020. O'Flynn quit Fianna Fáil after the party did not select him to run in the Cork North-Central constituency at the 2020 Irish general election. O'Flynn instead ran as an independent candidate and missed out on a seat, losing in the last count to Mick Barry.
In August 2021, O'Flynn faced criticism for a misleading Facebook post in which he called for "checks and balances" on refugees fleeing Afghanistan amidst the Taliban's resurgence. The post included a photograph of a plane crowded with Afghan men, which O'Flynn claimed depicted a "flight coming in from Afghanistan." However, the image was later revealed to have been taken in 2018 and was related to Afghan deportees from Turkey, not recent refugee arrivals. While admitting the error was "an honest mistake", O'Flynn defended his stance on asylum security, and dismissed critics as "snowflakes." The image had previously also been shared with similar commentary by former Breitbart contributor Dave Atherton, suggesting it influenced O'Flynn's post.

#### Independent Ireland

Following a period as an independent, O'Flynn joined Independent Ireland in March 2024.
In May 2024 O'Flynn was one of three city councillors to vote against a €18m Traveller housing scheme for the Spring Lane halting site in Ballyvolane. In September 2024, O'Flynn faced a Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) hearing over comments about the Spring Lane halting site made during a 2021 interview on RedFM's Neil Prendeville Show. The complaint alleged breaches of the Local Government Act and the Councillors' Code of Conduct. O'Flynn pledged to participate, asserting he would "not be silenced". A prior complaint by the Traveller Equality and Justice Project about his remarks was dismissed by the council's ethics registrar. Separately, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) partially upheld a complaint against the RedFM segment in 2022, criticising its failure to challenge O'Flynn's views or provide diverse perspectives, deeming it stigmatising toward Spring Lane residents and Travellers.
In May 2024 an investigation by the Echo found that O'Flynn had the lowest attendance of any Cork County Councillor between 2019 and 2023 and that O'Flynn's attendance was so low he was not eligible to make full expenses claims. O'Flynn defended his record by noting he ran a business and was also busy "listening to constituents".
Following his re-election to Cork City Council in June 2024, O'Flynn expressed his concerns about immigration, advocating for stricter controls on people coming into Ireland. He described immigration as a "serious problem" for the country. O'Flynn stated that while he did not oppose foreign people coming to Ireland, he was critical of individuals entering the country without proper documentation, such as those who "tear up their passports." O'Flynn suggest that a government that was not able to fix the homeless crisis would not be able to take in large numbers of immigrants. O'Flynn distanced himself from far-right views on the issue, stating his approach was just "common sense".
In November 2024 O'Flynn was elected to the Dáil and afterwards, he co-opted his local council seat to his 73-year-old retired father Noel. Noel O'Flynn joined Independent Ireland as part of the process.
In February 2025, O'Flynn stated that Ireland had taken in asylum seekers "to the detriment of our own people" and claimed that "hotel rooms can be found overnight for asylum seekers" but not for Irish citizens.

## Political views

A member of the right-wing Irish Independent party, O'Flynn has expressed anti-immigration views.
O'Flynn advocates that Ireland should be a neutral, isolationist country which does not get "involved in conflicts that are not our own." O'Flynn has stated concerning Israel/Palestine that he is in favour of neither side.

## Personal life

O'Flynn is the son of Noel O'Flynn, a TD for the same constituency from 1997 to 2011. O'Flynn is a gay man and is married to Francisco Cuevas, a Spanish business analyst.