John Quinn, the lawyer who funded the Irish literary renaissance by supporting Ireland’s leading writers of the day (including W.B. Yeats and James Joyce), is less well-remembered for his involvement with Irish nationalism and his friendship with Roger Casement, the Irish-born diplomat who was knighted by King George V in 1911 and executed for his role in Ireland’s Easter … [Read more...] about John Quinn: The Forgotten Irish American Nationalist
Roger Casement
Roger Casement: The Last Martyr
Hanged by the British in 1916 for working with Germany and Irish nationalists in planning the Easter Rising of 1916, Sir Roger Casement is remembered as the “father of twentieth-century human rights investigations.” Standing in the gallows of Britain’s Pentonville Prison, Casement was asked by the governor if he had any final words. He did, but only one: “Ireland.” The … [Read more...] about Roger Casement: The Last Martyr
Sir Roger Casement:
Irish Nationalist & Humanitarian
Hanged by the British in 1916, he was deemed first among traitors to the Empire for his role in the Easter Rising of 1916. Today he is honored as the “Father of Human Rights Activism.”I saw that Roger CasementDid what he had to do.He died upon the gallowsBut that is nothing … [Read more...] about Sir Roger Casement:
Irish Nationalist & Humanitarian
The German Connection
As World War I loomed, the U.S. was wracked by political, ethnic, and religious tension. Most Americans hoped to remain neutral, but the Irish in the U.S. were not shy about whom to root for. “The German guns will be the call of Ireland to her scattered sons,” Roger Casement wrote in his tract, “The Crime Against Ireland and How the War May Right It.” “Let Irishmen in America … [Read more...] about The German Connection