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
writing
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
Reclaiming Roger Casement
Review: Roger Casement In Irish History, 2005, Royal Irish Academy, edited by Mary E. Daly This book consists of a collection of essays on various themes concerning Roger Casement. While most of the media attention focused on a report of the handwriting expert Audrey Giles on the so called Black Diaries, there are other parts … Continue reading Reclaiming Roger Casement
Basil Thomson the Writer
Angela Clifford, writing in January’s Irish Political Review, focused attention on the remarkable man who was Roger Casement’s main interrogator. Sir Basil Thomson is well worth looking at closely. He can never be entirely ignored by anyone telling the Casement story, but he may be—and normally is—marginalised. He always seems to get less notice than he deserves. It has … Continue reading Basil Thomson the Writer
The Brian P. Murphy OSB Archive. (Series 9)
The Evolution Of British Policy And The Emergence Of a Sinn Fein Publicity Department In The Years After The Easter Rising. Mss notes, Part 25 On his return to Dublin, Childers immediately visited the Sinn Fein propaganda staff and showed them a letter written by Robert Barton about his prison experience. Although Brennan wished to … Continue reading The Brian P. Murphy OSB Archive. (Series 9)
Paying Homage to Cambridge University !
The language of history A Chara, – There’s only one way to read the statement by our Taoiseach that “Embracing Anglo-Irish history will never oblige us to think better of Cromwell” at the creation of the chair of Irish history in Cambridge University (“History ‘too important to leave to authoritarians’”, Home News, February 21st). It … Continue reading Paying Homage to Cambridge University !
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
Labour Comment
The Northern Standard ceases publication! THE Northern Standard, a regional weekly newspaper in Monaghan, ceased publication on 18th December 2025, after 186 years. THE weekly publication struggled to sustain its long-term viability in the face of what it called the "steady decline in readership and advertising in recent years", the publisher stated. Adding that, as … Continue reading Labour Comment
THE FIRST 50 YEARS OF THE AUBANE COMMUNITY CENTRE
[The following article will appear in the March issue of Irish Political Review on paper] THE FIRST 50 YEARS OF THE AUBANE COMMUNITY CENTRE. Jack Lane A story of a townland The people of the townland of Aubane celebrated 50 years of their Community Centre last year and an account of it includes the following item: It … Continue reading THE FIRST 50 YEARS OF THE AUBANE COMMUNITY CENTRE
