Roger Casement

by Brian Inglis

A masterly biography of Sir Roger Casement—British statesman, humanist, Irish nationalist, and one of the most controversial figures of the 19th century—hanged by the British in 1916 for treason.

Genres: Ireland, Biography, History, Africa, Nonfiction

448 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Lynne King · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish to thank Peter Boyle, a GR friend, for providing the following link as it is very apt for this review:

http://www.thejournal.ie/roger-caseme...

I have many biographies but this one has to be my favourite and the book itself is so well structured, with extraordinary illustrations that are not to be forgotten.

Irish history for some obscure reason has always fascinated me. I don’t believe that I have any Irish genes but most of my friends are Irish, from both the republic and the north.

I had this feeling of anticipation when I received this book and looking at the photo of Roger Casement on the cover, my immediate reaction was that he appeared slightly villainous. This would prove not to be the case. I then immediately looked at all of the illustrations and some of these were harrowing as they showed mutilated natives in the Congo. I especially liked looking at friends and associates of Casement, as this better enabled me to remember their faces when I came across them in the text. They set the scene so to speak.

All I had previously known about Roger Casement, an Irish born diplomat, was that he was hanged on 3 August, 1916 for high treason; the reason being for his role in Ireland’s Easter uprising on 24 April of that year and that he had been knighted in 1911.

He was Ulster-born and thus a protestant and it was only found out later that his mother had him baptized as a catholic which turned out very well for him in the end.

Imagine a man who on three occasions achieved an international reputation. The first two were for reporting atrocities in the Belgian Congo under King Leopold III and also, seven years later, as Consul-General in Putumayo in the Upper Amazon, whereupon Casement wrote a damning report about the native workers who were very badly treated by employees of the Peruvian Amazon Company, a British based firm. This caused a sensation in England. The photos shown in the book are not for the faint-hearted. Casement received his knighthood because of this report and yet surprisingly enough he had reservations about this. His loyalty to Ireland was beginning to emerge.

Casement had this wonderful side to his character – that of goodness. The thought of any suffering of a human being was torment for him. He also had his Catholic faith (latterly discovered) and in 1914 revealed his feelings in a sonnet:

“Weep not that you no longer feel the tide
High-breasting sun and storm that bore along
Your youth on currents of perpetual song;
For in these mid-sea waters, still and wide,
A sleepless purpose the great Deep doth hide.
Here spring the mighty fountains, pure and strong
That bear sweet change of breath to city throng
Who, had the sea no breeze, would soon have died
So, though the sun shines not in such a blue
Nor have the stars the meaning youth devised
The heavens are nigher, and a light shines through
The brightness that nor Sun nor Stars sufficed
And on this lonely waste we find it true
Lost youth and love, not last, are hid with Christ.”

So when and why did it all go horribly wrong for him? By 1913 his entire life was taken up with the independence of Ireland. He now had Sinn Fein ideals, that is, supporting the unification of Ireland and never wavered in his belief until his death.

Regrettably for Casement after the First World War had started, he had gone to Germany, a country that he really admired (yes but he should not have gone during the war!) and managed to convince the Germans to provide arms for an uprising in Ireland. Latterly, his friends said that he had been mentally affected by living in the tropics for so long as from this period he suffered dreadfully from depression and had the beginnings of manic depression.

Well the upshot was that after returning from Germany, he landed in a U-Boat in Ireland in 1916, where he was soon picked up by the police. What is difficult to understand is that he actually returned to Ireland to stop the planned uprising. At his trial, this was never mentioned as Casement felt that his judges might guess that he had said this to escape treason. Nevertheless, the trial was basically a kangaroo court that had decided in advance he was guilty. His final statement after the judgement of guilty by the court at his trial was absolutely splendid and his friends all supported him in the hope of an appeal. There was even correspondence from the Vatican giving the reason Casement was returning to Ireland was to stop the uprising. This never came to the attention of the court. It was seen by the British Cabinet, when considering the appeal, but they ignored it. I get the impression that the independence of Ireland was far from their thoughts at this time.

And finally the “black diaries”, found in his lodgings in Ebury Street, Belgravia showing that he was a practising homosexual and this fact was unknown to all of his friends. What on earth had that to do with the court? Well regrettably he had a barrister, Alexander Martin Sullivan of the Irish Bar, who was quite shocked by this revelation and so it was not brought up at the trial although everyone was soon aware of their existence. Sullivan was indeed a bad choice to represent Casement as “he was on the council which had been set up in Ireland to encourage recruiting for the British forces and he was a law officer of the crown.” With hindsight, Casement would have been better off representing himself at his trial. The diaries I believe were the final nail in the coffin for a possible reprieve.

There was so much controversy of these diaries for many years and Casement’s friends believed that they were forgeries. What would be the outcome here?

Casement finally realized that death was on the horizon. He hadn’t initially believed it but nevertheless he went to his death a brave man. Even the executioner Ellis was proud of him. “He appeared to be the bravest man it fell to my unhappy lot to execute”.

He had a horror of being buried in Pentonville prison after his execution and it took many years before his remains were finally returned to Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin, the city where he was born. Surprisingly enough it was Harold Wilson, the then Prime Minister, who in 1964, Casement’s centenary year, decided this could happen.

A splendid biography.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Casement was a complex, even contradictory man -- Irish Protestant who supported Irish rebellion but who also worked for Britain as diplomat, a position he used to expose the atrocities against Congolese by King Leopold, and against Putomayo Indians by rubber companies. He was convicted of treason against Britain for conspiring with Irish nationalists to smuggle weapons, and hanged in 1916, reviled as much as he had been revered earlier in his career. Like his countryman, Oscar Wilde, his legal fate was influenced by his homosexuality, as much as any specific crime. Casement appears to have had the same infinite resource of energy and committment that drove another larger than life figure, Sir Richard Burton, the Victorian explorer. They don't make 'em like this anymore, folks, and Inglis does Casement full justice, the heroic and illicit sides of his persona.

[erindoeshistory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps the best biography on Roger casement I’ve read. Inglis clearly cares for Casement as a subject, but also as a person. There is a sort of tenderness to this biography. Thoroughly enjoyed

[Jane Wilson-Howarth · Rating 4 out of 5]

authoritative and scholarly; a good read

[David Allan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The definitive biography of Casement. Regrettably so.

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

It almost goes without saying that Roger Casement is the most interesting person of the 20th Century.

Given how entirely controversial Casement's life was, I understand Inglis's impulse to keep it textual and dry. "We know that Casement did this and this." That being said, while incredibly fair and presumably accurate, Inglis's narrative lacks a certain casual readability.

Also, I have to say that the details of the early days of the Home Rule movement got a bit confused for me (being an American and all).

Anyway, I'd definitely recommend that everyone read a biography of Casement - I may have simply picked the wrong one or perhaps the right one has yet to be written.

[Sues57 Schroeder · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a lot of information in Inglis' book, but it could be better organized. It's written in an older style; more "impersonal" than current biographies. It's a good introduction though, to Casement (and interestingly, it presumes the reader has a good knowledge of events like the Boer War. So yes, it's rigorous in some ways, but vague in others.)

[Denerick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Republicans have a problem with Sir Roger Casement. Or rather I should say they have a problem with his homosexuality. Or rather, moreso, they deny his homosexuality.

Roger Casement was a humanitarian, an Irish patriot, a depressive, and a homosexual. Deal with it.