President-elect Donald Trump’s new National Security Advisor has roots in Fivemiletown.

Michael Flynn’s grandfather Charles was born in 1889 in the townland of Blacklands, between Clabby and Fivemiletown. He arrived at Ellis Island in 1913, aged 22. He later settled in Rhode Island and, in 1942, he registered to serve in World War II. His son Charles, a banker from Rhode Island, was Michael Flynn’s father.

A controversial figure, ‘Mike’ Flynn is a retired United States Army lieutenant general who believes that Islam is political ideology, not a religion. He has tweeted: “Fear of Muslims is RATIONAL” and claims that the Muslim faith has become “a malignant cancer”. He is an outspoken critic of President Obama’s foreign and military policies, especially when it comes to the president’s handling of the ISIS threat.

The retired lieutenant general spent 33 years as an intelligence officer. During his career, Mr. Flynn served as the Director of the Defence Intelligence Agency and the Senior Military Intelligence Officer in the Department of Defence.

Impartial Reporter:

He is the founder of the Flynn Intel Group, a commercial, government, and international consulting firm. He is the co-author of the New York Times bestseller of ‘The Field of Fight: How we can win the global war against radical Islam and its allies.’He is married to Lori and they have two sons, Matthew and Michal.

After being chosen as part of Trump’s national security team, Mr. Flynn tweeted: “Humbled and honored to serve America and #POTUS45 as APNSA - I want 2 thank all who supported our team. Now let’s #MAGA [Make America Great Again] #FridayFeeling”.