Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Ipswich has lost one its favourite sons and Queensland's finest rugby league player, Denis Flannery. Denis James Flannery was an Australian rugby league footballer in the 1940s and fifties. Sadly, Denis passed away on Sunday at the age of 83. He was renowned for his sweet sidestep and swerve, and played on the right wing because he could step off the right foot.

He attended school in Ipswich. Denis married Norma Dempsey, the daughter of the former great Kangaroo and Ipswich legend, Dan Dempsey. Denis and Norma own the famous Ulster Hotel in my electorate of Blair. Starting in 1948, Denis played 27 matches for Queensland and represented Australia in 13 test matches, two World Cup matches and 30 tour matches. On the 1952-53 Kangaroo tour, he scored 23 tries in 14 games, including hat-tricks against Featherstone Rovers, Doncaster and Hull Kingston Rovers. He continued to represent Queensland and Australia, retiring from representative football after the 1956-57 Kangaroo tour.

In 2008, Denis was chosen as a winger when the Queensland team of the century was named—a tremendous honour for a Queensland rugby league great. My thoughts and prayers are with Norma and her family, and the whole Ipswich community. He was beloved by Ipswich.

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