Roger Casement

A number of events are taking place in the UK throughout 2016 to commemorate and reflect on the life and legacy of Roger Casement, Irish patriot, British diplomat and internationally renowned humanitarian.

 As part of the Embassy's Ireland 2016 Centenary Programme Lecture Series, the Embassy hosted a number of events on Casement:

• On 2nd June, the Embassy hosted a panel discussion on the life and humanitarian legacy of Roger Casement. The speakers at the event were Prof Seán McConville, Professor of Law and Public Policy at Queen Mary University of London, who spoke about the paradoxical nature of Casement as a figure in the Irish revolution, and Shami Chakrabarti, former director of British civil liberties advocacy organisation Liberty, who spoke about Casement's role as a humanitarian and early human rights activist. If you are in the UK you can watch it on BBC Parliament or anyone can listen to our podcast of the discussion.
• On 19th July, the Embassy hosted a discussion with retired British judge His Honour Judge Anthony Bradbury on the trial and appeal of Roger Casement and the painting it inspired, 'High treason' by John Lavery. You can listen to a podcast of the discussion.

On 1^st August, an Irish community event, led by the Irish Chaplaincy, took place in Westminister Cathedral in London to commemorate the centenary of the execution of Casement at Pentonville Prison in August 1916. The mass of remembrance was followed by a reception at the Embassy. You can read the Ambassador's remarks from the 1 August event.

Culture Ireland supported the presentation of The Casement Project, produced by Fearghus Ó Conchúir, at the Place Theatre, London in June 2016 and a accompanying symposium at the British Library reflecting on The Casement Project and the legacy of Roger Casement. The Casement Project is a National Project supported by the Arts Council of Ireland as part of Ireland 2016.

Ambassador Mulhall has written a blog on Roger Casement and his legacy.

Events in Ireland to commemorate Roger Casement, include the State Ceremonial event at Glasnevin Cemetery to mark the centenary of Casement's execution on 3rd August; the State Ceremonial event at Banna Strand in Kerry on 21 April to commemorate the Roger Casement landing at Banna in 1916, and the special event to mark the humanitarian legacy of Roger Casement on August 3^rd at Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnell, Dublin.

Read the speech here by President Michael D. Higgins at the State Ceremonial event at Banna Strand here.