Application Lodged to Move Roger Casement's Remains to Northern Ireland

Based on reporting by BBC UK:

The Roger Casement Commemoration and Re-interment Association has submitted an application to relocate the remains of Roger Casement, who was a knight of the realm and an Easter Rising conspirator, to Northern Ireland. Should this application be successful, it would constitute the second instance of Casement being exhumed and reinterred.

Casement was initially buried in the grounds of Pentonville Prison in London, where he was executed in 1916 after being discovered returning to Ireland via a U-boat following a trip to Germany intended to secure arms for Irish nationalists. His remains were subsequently exhumed in 1965 and moved to Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin.

The association, which lodged the application, stated its desire to fulfill Casement's wish to be buried in County Antrim. The association has requested an exhumation license from both Dublin City Council and Glasnevin Cemetery. Specifically, they aim to transfer Casement's remains from the Irish capital to Murlough Bay in County Antrim, a location where Patrick McCarry has reportedly consented to allow the reburial on his land.

In a letter dated 25 July 1916, Casement wrote that he did not want his body to remain where it was, expressing a desire to be returned to the 'green hill at Murlough, by the McGarry's house, looking down on the Moyle.' The association stated that its plans have the backing of Casement's family, specifically James Casement from Arizona, United States.

During a gathering at the Casement Social Club in Belfast on Thursday night, the association and McCarry met with their legal team, Phoenix Law solicitors, and O'Neill's Funeral Directors. Association chairperson Alan Daly announced the formal application for Roger Casement's exhumation to bring him home, stating that Casement always wanted to return home and that it was significant to co-sign the application with James Casement, a direct and surviving relative.

The association claimed that exhumations are routinely granted across the island of Ireland. However, obtaining an exhumation license in Northern Ireland, or the Republic of Ireland (ROI), involves a highly regulated procedure due to strict legal, ethical, and public health safeguards concerning human remains.

It is noted that when there was a suggestion in 1965 that Casement's bones should be repatriated to Northern Ireland from Pentonville, the government led by Prime Minister Harold Wilson prohibited the action, citing concerns that it would escalate political tensions.

Roger Casement's background included being knighted by King George V in 1911 for humanitarian work in central Africa and parts of South America. Despite this, Casement, who identified as a Protestant for much of his life, eventually became disillusioned with colonialism and dedicated himself to the Irish nationalist cause by joining the Irish Volunteer Force.

During World War One, Casement became interested in a potential Irish-German alliance to achieve full Irish independence. As the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) planned the Easter Rising, Casement agreed to travel to Germany to recruit Irish soldiers who had fought for Britain and been captured by Germany. This plan failed when it became apparent that German promises of soldiers and 200,000 rifles would not be fulfilled. Casement was intercepted and arrested by British authorities upon returning to County Kerry on a German U-boat in April 1916. He was held in the Tower of London awaiting trial for treason, and on 29 June 1916, he was found guilty of high treason and sentenced to death. A campaign for a reprieve, supported by figures such as W B Yeats and George Bernard Shaw, ultimately failed, and Casement was executed on 3 August 1916. Extracts from his diaries, which publicly revealed his homosexuality, were cited as a factor that hindered his chances of a reprieve.