Roger Casement was an interesting man--maybe the most interesting man out of all the characters that were in the Easter Rising. He was a man that lived with the majority yet fully identified with the minority. However, accusations against him based on his lifestyle have prevented him from being recognized for his important contributions during the Easter Rising. However he conducted his life, he still needs to be recognized for what he has done.
Casement was born on September 1, 1864 in Sandycove, Dublin to Roger Casement and Anne Jephson. His father was the captain of the 3rd Dragoon Guard, a regiment of cavalry soldiers for the British army. In a way, his battle for the Irish cause was paradoxical when you consider his strong ties to the British. Moreover, while he was brought up as a Protestant by his father, his mother secretly baptized him as a Catholic, identifying him with the religious minorities at the time. His family lived in poverty, and both of his parents died when he was very young. After the death of his parents, he was then raised by his uncle and educated in Ballycastle before departing from school to work in an English shipping company.
Outside of his role in the Rising, Casement is probably better known for his humanitarian work. In one instance during 1904, while he was in Africa he was commissioned by the English to investigate the Belgic treatment of the native peoples, detailing the abuses they conducted towards the natives. His other famous case occurred in 1906. Casement, now well-known for his work in Africa, was then sent to Peru to investigate the abuse of workers (who were actually native Putumayo Indians) who were in the rubber making industry there. His exploits actually helped him to be knighted by the English--which serves as an interesting wrinkle to what he would eventually do.
But during his work with the British, in 1904 he joined the Gaelic League, an organization that fervently promoted Irish nationalism. After being greatly indebted to the Irish cause as he wrote articles for the League, he left the British Consulate in 1913 to more focus his efforts on promoting Irish nationalism, fighting for it until his last breath. One of his most famous articles, which was edited under MacDonagh and Plunkett, issued the declaration that England's difficulty was Ireland's opportunity--an opportunity he would not live to see firsthand. He left Ireland to raise funds for the Rising in the United States, then he went to Germany to recruit Irish POWs for the revolution. With some assistance from Plunkett, he succeeded and secured arms in Germany, and he eventually departed hoping to aid his brethren in defeating the British. Unfortunately for him, the British captured him on Good Friday 1916 and was scheduled to be tried for treason at a later date. But the most interesting parts of the trial occurred in the dates leading up to it. While awaiting the inevitable, Casement was accused as a homosexual by the British, according to certain diaries ostensibly written by him. The British utilized this in order to discredit him as one of the martyrs--since Catholics and most other Irishmen did not favorably look upon homosexuality, they reasoned, they would at worst be ambivalent towards Casement and at best abandon him altogether. But to this day, nobody knows for certain if Casement did indeed recount his experiences in those diaries. In fact, most of his strongest supporters at that time believed the diaries were forgeries created to smear Casement's name through the mud. Whatever the case, Casement was eventually declared guilty of high treason and was hanged on August 3, 1916.
Looking at the man's life, Casement was an individual that knew the ins and outs of both the majority and the minority. While he was raised by a captain of a cavalry unit and worked with the British Empire, he deeply identified with his Irish brethren's plight, and he fought for them. While he was raised Protestant, he was also undoubtedly taught Catholicism by his mother--further identifying with Irish people as the majority of them were Catholics. And if it was true that he had relations with other men, his personal life experiences may have further internalized his deep relationship with the minority. To most people, while he externally was a member of the majority, he more identified with the oppressed. That may have played a large role in why he was so willing to fight for the Irish cause. He himself knew what it was like to be kicked down by the bigger men of his time, and he decided that this was not something he wanted his people to go through. So, he decided to lay down his life for the Irish people and paid for it with his life. If he were here today, he would be glad with how far Ireland has come as a free state. He would encourage and exhort the people to maintain their sense of Irishness and keep promoting liberty amongst all of the people.
However, given the British accusations of being a homosexual, he has been by and large ignored. While he has played some tremendous roles as a fundraiser, recruiter, and arms gatherer for the soldiers involved in the Rising, he has not been given the credit that is due to him. In essence, it would be fair to call Roger Casement the unsung hero of the Rising, and he deserves to be recognized for what he has done.
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