His research is mainly focused on Atlantic Europe - with a particular interest in Galicia[1] and Atlantic Iberia - from the perspective of cultural and historical Geography. O'Flanagan helped to define and standardise the actual concept of Atlantic Europe. Other research deals with comparative evolution of port cities, rural change, housing and settlement studies.[citation needed]
Partial bibliography
The Living Landscape, Kilgalligan, Erris, County Mayo, (with S. O Cathain), Dublin, 1974.
Rural Ireland, 1600-1900: Modernization and Change, (with P. Ferguson and K. Whelan), Cork, 1987.
Cork, History and Society, (with N. Buttimer), Cork, 1993.
Xeografía Histórica de Galicia, Xerais, Vigo, 1996.
"Galicia en el marco geográfico y histórico de la Europa Atlántica", in Xeográfica I, pp. 115–133, Santiago de Compostela, 2001.
Port cities of Atlantic Iberia, c. 1500-1900, Aldershot, 2008.
References
^Ferrás Sexto, C. (2001): "Reflexión acerca del significado de la obra del profesor O'Flanagan para la Geografía de Galicia", in Xeográfica no. 1, pp. 199–203, Compostela.