ABSTRACT
In Ireland and certain parts of the wider world, one of the main talking points of the summer of 1916 was the fate of Sir Roger Casement, who had attempted to land arms three days before the outbreak of the Rising. Whilst opinion in England was eventually split on what sort of punishment Casement should receive, demands for clemency did not succeed. Casement was finally convicted at a trial in London on 30 July, where he passionately defended his actions and attributed them to 'loyalty for Ireland'. In its monthly issue, issued nearly a fortnight after Casement's death, one writer for The Irishman fervently lambasted the British daily press for indulging in a frame of mind, which it alleged, had recited 'distorted details concerning the private character of a man, in order to prejudice public feeling against him'. Following his execution, Casement's body was interred in England, where it lay for the next 49 years.
