![\"Lavery](\"https:\/\/letters1916.ie\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/lavery_high_treason.jpg\")
<\/a>The sentence of execution passed on Roger Casement came to be an extremely influential milestone in the narrative of the 1916 Rising. Correspondence with figures such as George Gavan Duffy<\/a> (1882-1951) and Alice Stopford Green<\/a> (1847-1929) reflect this as the support for their petition to reprieve Roger Casement grew over the summer months. Among the supporters for leniency were notable literary figures William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), Clement King Shorter (1857-1926) and George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950). That appeal only increased the sensationalism of Casement\u2019s case as British officials retaliated with the publication of diaries reportedly written by Casement. The diaries contained details of homosexual encounters with young men and adolescents and their publication within the media was designed to undermine Casement\u2019s petition for appeal. \u00a0Additionally, the diaries\u2019 content could hopefully have the added effect of preventing a cult of martyrdom being built around Casement as was already being constructed around the executed leaders of the Rising. Only one of these objectives succeeded. A source of contention, as many of Casement\u2019s supporters claimed the diaries were forged, the infamous \u2018black diaries\u2019 have often side-tracked the narrative of Casement\u2019s life and works for Irish nationalism. Aside from the notable figures who came to Casement\u2019s aid his influence can be traced in the everyday correspondence of ordinary people, such as May Fay<\/a> who prayed for Casement\u2019s conversion to Catholicism before his execution.<\/p>\n Roger Casement was hanged on 3 August 1916, a day after he had been received into the Catholic church, and buried in Pentonville jail. Casement\u2019s remains were returned to Ireland in February 1965 and after an elaborate state funeral, they were reburied in Glasnevin cemetery. The day before his execution Casement wrote his final letter<\/a> to Margaret Gavan Duffy (1876-1967) and expressed his last sentiments in the Irish republican tradition of martyrdom, \u2018Tomorrow St Stephen’s Day I die the death I sought and may God forgive the mistakes and receive the intent \u2014 Ireland’s freedom.\u2019 One hundred years on from his execution and Sir Roger Casement is no less prevalent in Irish history. His continued significance is highlighted by his position as the focal point of the Hugh Lane Gallery\u2019s 2016 commemorative exhibition. However, Casement\u2019s narrative should not be limited to the sensationalism surrounding his final days. In addition to being a casualty of the 1916 Rising Sir Roger Casement was a complex figure who raises many more complex questions. From knighted British diplomat to Irish rebel, an Irish Protestant until his final moments, Roger Casement highlights the complexity of Irish nationalism.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n By Hannah Healy<\/p>\n <\/p>\n References:<\/strong><\/p>\n Michael Laffan,\u00a0‘Casement, Sir Roger David’,\u00a0in James McGuire and James Quinn\u00a0(ed), Dictionary of Irish Biography<\/em>.\u00a0(Cambridge,\u00a02010). (http:\/\/dib.cambridge.org\/viewReadPage.do?articleId=a1532)<\/p>\n Paul Bew, \u2018The Real Importance of Sir Roger Casement\u2019, History Ireland<\/em>, 2:2 (1994), pp. 42-45<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" While tensions on the island of Ireland were growing as internal disputes seemed to be reaching a climactic head, Sir Roger Casement (1864\u20131916) was busy in Germany, promoting Irish nationalism. Casement, a former advocate of imperialism, spent eighteen months in Continue reading \u201cIt was an aberration generated by the pressure of total war\u201d: The Execution of Sir Roger Casement<\/span>