So the Black Diaries are genuine

�

A.� So it would seem. The so-called Black Diaries of Sir Roger Casement - British traitor and Irish hero - had for years been suspected as forgeries. Now after 86 years of arguments, they have been pronounced genuine.< xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

�

Q.� Why the controversy

A.� The diaries, written in an Army field notebook, three pocket diaries and a cash ledger, chart Casement's exploits as a promiscuous homosexual at a time when such activity was not only scandalous but also illegal. Many Irish experts had believed the diaries, which detail dozens of sexual encounters, were forged by British intelligence to discredit Casement shortly before he was hanged for treason on 3 August, 1916.

�

Q.� Hanged Why

A.� Casement, an Ulster protestant from an upper-class family, had a distinguished career in the British consular service and was knighted in 1911 for exposing ill treatment of natives working in rubber plantations of the Congo and the Amazon. But he became a convert to the Irish republican cause and resigned from the service in 1913.

�

Q.� So he was hanged for being member of an illegal organisation

A.� Oh no. The charge was high treason. Seeking help in America - and worse, from the German enemy - he tried to start an armed uprising.

�

In 1916, Germany agreed to send 20,000 rifles to Ireland to help the Easter Rebellion, an uprising of Irish nationalists against British rule. The British intercepted the arms and captured Casement as he landed from a German submarine off the coast of County Kerry three days before the rising on 24 April.

�

Q.� And were the diaries used in evidence

A.� Not in court. The diaries were obtained at the time of his arrest and extracts leaked to the press and other influential people, including the American ambassador in London, to reduce support for clemency.

�

Q.� So he had mainstream supporters

A.� Oh yes. Pleas for mercy were made by George Bernard Shaw, W B Yeats, John Masefield and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, among others. The British government rejected them, convinced that the material in the diaries would blacken Casement's character and stop him being considered a martyr.

�

Q.� The diaries have just been released

A.� Oh no. Versions appeared in 1936 and were instantly denounced as forgeries by Irish nationalists. The British government did not acknowledge their existence until 1959, when they were made available to historians. They were finally released to the Public Record Office in 1994, but their authenticity was still suspect.

�

Q.� How were they proved genuine

A.� Tests were made on the handwriting and ink - cross-checked with the so-called 'white' diaries, an undisputed journal documenting Casement's time as a consular official.

�

A television documentary, Secrets of the Black Diaries, has just been aired on the new BBC4 digital channel. Producer Paul Tilzey said: 'Many people, particularly in Ireland, would like to believe the diaries are forgeries. The case has been consistently made that they were produced by British Intelligence specifically to destroy the one Irish patriot of truly international stature. On the other hand, there is an equally powerful argument that these repeated attempts to discredit the diaries are really a sign of deeply ingrained Irish homophobia.'

�

Q.� And Casement remains an Irish hero

A.� Yes. He is commemorated by a statue at Ballyheigue, where his ill-fated treachery ran aground. His body was moved from the graveyard at Pentonville Prison to Glasnevin Cemetery, where hundreds of nationalists still pay tribute.

�

There's a twist, though. A rumour persists that the body moved to Ireland in 1965 wasn't Casement's, but the executed corpse from an adjoining grave - Dr Crippen, the poisoner. Perhaps those Irish patriots are making their homage to a wife-murderer instead.

�

To ask a question about People & Places, click here

Steve Cunningham