Introduction In his 2016 lecture on Casement, former Attorney General Michael McDowell cordially invited listeners “to imagine and even to judge his real character as we choose …”: in short, he invited us to ignore verified facts about the historical person and to thereby deceive ourselves by freely choosing whatever imaginary Casement took our fancy. Essentially the choice was … Continue reading Letter To The President: Choose Your Casement!
fiction
A Side-Issue In The Casement Story: McCormick And Grayson
In last month’s Irish Political Review I focused on the career of J. Arthur Maundy Gregory, who became famous by selling more knighthoods and other titles of honour than anyone else in Great Britain. Previous to that, he was probably involved—under the direction of Basil Thomson, head of Scotland Yard—in forging the 'Black Diaries' attributed to Roger Casement. I set out below … Continue reading A Side-Issue In The Casement Story: McCormick And Grayson
The Real Roger Casement!
Book Review: Casement by Angus Mitchell, Haus Publishing, 2026 The publication of this book is a timely antidote to the distorted image of Casement that has been presented in recent books, which portray him as a fragile person who was desperate to latch onto any cause to escape his mental frailties. An example of the … Continue reading The Real Roger Casement!
Basil Thomson And Maundy Gregory
In previous articles in this series I sketched the personality of Sir Basil Thomson, who was head of Scotland Yard in 1916 and the main interrogator of Roger Casement. He was a man of remarkably wide professional experience and much intellectual curiosity. He was also a gifted writer. Intellectually, Thomson was committed to defending the global power … Continue reading Basil Thomson And Maundy Gregory
History As Creative Story-telling
Book review: Rory Carroll, A Rebel And A Traitor [Roger Casement] (Dimensions, £17.50) History As Creative Story-telling Rory Carroll’s new book is neither a history nor a biography; it has elements of a political thriller or an adventure story but is not that either. This hybrid identity conceals it as a strategic narrative—a carefully … Continue reading History As Creative Story-telling
The Lost World Of The Putumayo
Review: The Amazon Journal of Roger Casement, edited by Angus Mitchell, Lilliput Press, Dublin, 1997. This book reproduces correspondence written by Roger Casement in 1910, as well as his Putumayo Diary covering the period 23rd September to 6th December 1910. The existence of the 'Putumayo Diary' represents a fatal weakness in the edifice that the … Continue reading The Lost World Of The Putumayo
Basil Thomson And Distant Peoples And Their Languages
Last month I began a brief investigation of Basil Thomson, head of Scotland Yard and Roger Casement’s main interrogator in 1916, and a man who is closely connected with the Diaries. Thomson was anything but a narrow-focussed policeman. He was an agent of the British Empire with years of service in exotic South Seas … Continue reading Basil Thomson And Distant Peoples And Their Languages
Casement: Dr. Audrey Giles’ Report
(Followed by Brian Inglis's Three Diaries Trick! ) The report of Audrey Giles on the Black Diaries was completed with much fanfare in 2002. It was claimed that the question of the authenticity of the Diaries was now closed. Giles is a Doctor of Philosophy. At the time of the Report she had twenty-five years … Continue reading Casement: Dr. Audrey Giles’ Report
Casement: Character Assassination—By An Expert!
Review Roger Casement by Brian Inglis, Penguin Books, 2002, first published 1973. It is widely believed that Brian Inglis’s biography of Roger Casement is the standard biography from which other biographies take their cue. Although Inglis did not receive cooperation from the Casement family, the book could also be described as an “authorised” biography. … Continue reading Casement: Character Assassination—By An Expert!
Casement And Emotion
(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
