Clare County Archives has completed work on an archival collection of
great national importance. The papers of Irish nationalist, Roger Casement,
were transferred to the archives from Clare County Library’s Local
Studies Centre in October 2003. The Roger Casement Papers were originally
donated to Clare County Council in 1969 by the late Ignatius M. Houlihan,
Solicitor. The collection contains mainly correspondence as well as receipts,
essays, leaflets and newspaper cuttings. Of particular interest, however,
are the letters, which provide us with a glimpse of the Irish-German background
to the Easter Rising, and Ireland’s claim to political independence.
The letters date from Casement’s arrival in Germany in 1914 to the
very month he leaves Germany in 1916 on the U-19 submarine bound for Ireland,
providing a rare insight into Casement’s state of mind during one
of the most exciting periods in Irish history.
Casement Documents are Found in Clare
Clare Champion, Friday, 23 January 2004
