Roger Casement (1864-1916) was an Irish nationalist and British consular official, whose attempt to secure aid from Germany in the struggle for Irish independence led to his execution by the British for the crime of high treason.

Born on September 1, 1864, in Kingstown, Ireland, to a Protestant father and Catholic mother, Roger David Casement was heir to two radically different traditions in Ireland. As the son of a landed Protestant gentleman, Casement had definite cultural links to England that the majority of his poorer Catholic countrymen did not. Yet, as the son of a Catholic, Casement's heritage was bound up with that of Irish men and women who had fought English Protestant rule in their country for hundreds of years.

Casement was the youngest of four children; his sister, Nina, was eight years his elder, and brothers Thomas and Charles were one and three years older, respectively. In 1868, when...