Roger Casement in Argentina

Angus Mitchell

doi:10.37389/abei.v21i2.3813

Abstract

Roger Casement made two journeys to Argentina: the first was in 1907 and the second was in 1910. Little is known about either trip beyond a few fragmentary references in letters and some encrypted entries in the contested Black Diaries. Nonetheless, these traces would suggest that Casement was connected into a vibrant Irish-Argentinian network that played a vital role in the independence struggle before and after 1916. Through reconstructing evidence of these visits and locating his friendships within Ireland’s broader transnational struggle, this essay excavates a dimension of informal diplomacy that prepared the ground for the emergence of Irish foreign policy after 1919.

Highlights

Some years ago, while participating in a conference at a university in the west of Ireland, I was approached by a woman in her mid to late seventies
A Donegal tweed hat sat at an angle on her head and a narrow gold torc clasped the line of her neck. She introduced herself courteously saying that she had been fascinated to hear the discussion about Roger Casement’s exploits in South America, as there was a vivid memory of Casement in her own family background
On returning to Buenos Aires on 22 March, Casement made a trip by train to the district of Belgrano and the following day he journeyed to La Plata to lunch at the hotel, the Black Diary narrative is unclear why or who he visited in either place

Summary

Introduction

While participating in a conference at a university in the west of Ireland, I was approached by a woman in her mid to late seventies. William Warden was a member of the British expatriate business community resident in Buenos Aires, who befriended Casement and became interested in his various causes and campaigns.1 He appears to have served as Casement’s eyes and ears in Argentina and kept tabs on the reporting of the Congo reform movement in the Argentine press. On returning to Buenos Aires on 22 March, Casement made a trip by train to the district of Belgrano and the following day he journeyed to La Plata to lunch at the hotel, the Black Diary narrative is unclear why or who he visited in either place That evening he arranged to travel the following day to a place called “San Marco” in the company of ‘Eddy Duggan.’. It is not unreasonable to assume that Casement kept in close touch with several in that circle, and this would explain why, as the revolutionary conspiracy in Ireland deepened, a messenger was required to run secret communications between New York and Buenos Aires

Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham

Balder Olden

An Unresolved Incident

Works Cited