Roger Casement's German Diary, 1914-1916: Including 'A Last Page' and associated correspondence - Paperback

by Jeffrey Dudgeon (Author)

This is the definitive version of Roger Casement's German Diary covering the years 1914 to 1916 when, after the war started, he went to Berlin seeking support for Irish independence. With over 350 pages and 150,000 words, it is unabridged where another writer has edited out 20% of the original text. Those cuts are at times from the most sensitive of areas, including the behaviour of the German Army in Belgium and Casement's increasing disillusionment with the Kaiser's Imperial Government and Prussian militarism.The diary and many linked letters give a vivid impression of a man under stress in an alien environment who still manages to observe, describe and appreciate much of what he sees around him. He writes as an outsider of a nation at war with England and France. Casement's growing frustrations however come to the point where his own mental health is destabilised. The final section describes his frantic attempts both to get sufficient arms shipped to the separatist Irish Volunteers and to travel by submarine to Kerry with a view to getting the Easter Rising called off.The book concludes with a series of appendices exploring aspects of his time in Germany, the part played by his accomplices in the Rising, and the role of British and German Intelligence. The continuing controversy over the authenticity of his earlier diaries is also addressed.This is a companion volume to the author's 'Roger Casement: The Black Diaries - with a Study of his Background, Sexuality, and Irish Political Life' which was published in an extended 2nd edition (both paperback and Kindle) in early 2016.

Author Biography

Jeffrey Dudgeon, was born in Belfast in 1946 and educated at local primary schools, Campbell College, Magee University College, and Trinity College, Dublin. In the 1970s and 1980s, he was an active member of the Campaign for Labour Representation, and later the Campaign for Equal Citizenship. In 1975, he co-founded the Northern Ireland Gay Rights Association (NIGRA), and in 1981 was the winning plaintiff at the European Court of Human Rights in a seven-year suit against the British Government. This resulted in the decriminalisation of male homosexuality in Northern Ireland in 1982. It was the first successful gay case at Strasbourg and has been a precedent throughout the world, including the Supreme Court of the United States. He continues to work with NIGRA on legal and police issues. After a stint in shipping at Belfast docks, he was a civil servant for many years, working mostly in pensions. From 1995-8, he was parliamentary adviser and constituency office manager for the UK Unionist MP for North Down, Robert McCartney. For the following two years, he was engaged, full time, in researching his book Roger Casement: The Black Diaries, returning in 2000 to the Department of Health at Stormont to deal with health protection issues, including antimicrobial resistance, healthcare-associated infection, and screening. One-time honorary secretary of the Irish Association's northern branch, he stood as a liberal unionist for a Trinity College seat in the Irish Senate in 2011. Jeffrey Dudgeon was awarded an MBE in the 2012 New Year's Honours List for services to the LGBT community, and, in 2013, was one of the two Ulster Unionist Party representatives at the Haass Talks on Flags, Parading and the Past. In 2014, he was elected to Belfast City Council as a UUP Councillor for the Balmoral area, and chairs the Council's Diversity Working Group. He is also a member of the City Growth and Development, and Licensing Committees. In Council, he is majoring on achieving the erection of a Belfast Blitz Memorial in the City Hall grounds to commemorate the more than 1,000 victims of the two terrible air raids of April and May 1941. The author continues to discuss, write and speak on issues relating to Roger Casement and his global significance, particularly so in this Decade of Centenaries, the high point of which is 2016, because of both the Easter Rising and the Battle of the Somme. The author's email address for contact or comment is: jeffreydudgeon@hotmail.com.