(Some Thoughts On Broken Archangel by Roland Philipps) Reading the latest biography of Roger Casement by Roland Philipps, a few things struck me that may be of some interest. I don’t think Philipps’s work is particularly original. It seems to be largely an elaborate development of ideas thrown out sketchily by Jeffrey Dudgeon in his large edition … Continue reading Casement And Emotion
Black Diaries
The Black Diaries: Truth And Lies
John Martin Truth It is sometimes said that the “truth hurts”. Certainly, from an emotional point of view, it can be difficult to tell the truth if it doesn’t reflect well on the teller. But, from an intellectual point of view, telling the truth is quite easy. All that is required is for the … Continue reading The Black Diaries: Truth And Lies
Black Diary Realism
Tim O'Sullivan The article by John Martin titled The Black Diary Forgeries which appearedin Irish Political Review for November 2025 contains quite a number of questionable statements and non sequiturs which need to be addressed. In the October issue of Irish Political Review a bold prediction was made that this article would “show the error … Continue reading Black Diary Realism
Letter—The Black Diaries
To the Irish Political Review Dear Editor, John Martin, in November’s Irish Political Review article ‘The Black Diary Forgeries’, pinpoints one of the, perhaps, dozen areas of dispute author Paul Hyde has over the authenticity of Casement’s four Black Diaries. I have dealt with most of these contradictions or confusions and made the point that, within nearly 1,000 … Continue reading Letter—The Black Diaries
Reply to Tim O’Sullivan
1) The 1902 'Army Notebook' is included in the collection of “diaries” that the British State prevented public access to until 1959 and restricted access up until 1995. These are collectively known as the Black Diaries. As indicated in previous articles the Diaries contain 'authenticators'. This is innocuous material which is factually correct; and the … Continue reading Reply to Tim O’Sullivan