{"id":20010,"date":"2024-12-01T11:26:44","date_gmt":"2024-12-01T11:26:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/?p=20010"},"modified":"2024-12-01T11:26:44","modified_gmt":"2024-12-01T11:26:44","slug":"casement-the-name-on-belfasts-controversial-stadium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/?p=20010","title":{"rendered":"Casement: The name on Belfast's controversial stadium"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"PressPress Association<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Sir Roger Casement was executed in 1916 for his part in an Irish rebellion<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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In the heart of west Belfast, a derelict stadium named after Irish revolutionary Roger Casement has become the focal point of a complex political row. <\/p>\n

It’s an argument which goes beyond the hundreds of millions it will cost to rebuild.<\/p>\n

There have also been concerns over publicly funding a facility which bears the name of an Irish rebel, executed for high treason.<\/p>\n

But who was Roger Casement? <\/p>\n

His story is told in a new BBC Sounds podcast series, The Mystery Of: Casement, Rebel Knight.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Casement Park’s redevelopment will no longer be done to UEFA specifications, reducing its cost dramatically<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

Knight of the Realm<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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Roger was a Dublin boy, the son of a British Army officer. <\/p>\n

The family moved to County Antrim when he was a teenager, where he attended the school which is now Ballymena Academy. <\/p>\n

He left at 15 to begin work in the office of a shipping line in Liverpool. <\/p>\n

That job led him to work on one of the company’s ships transporting goods to and from the Congo River in West Africa.<\/p>\n

A job with the International African Association established by the Belgian King, Leopold II would follow. <\/p>\n

Patrick Casement, the great grandson of Roger’s second cousin, still lives in the family home and has kept records of letters written by Roger during his time in Africa. <\/p>\n

“He was driven in a way, and you get that sense from his incessant letter writing,” said Patrick.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Portrait of Roger Casement<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Roger writes of his inability to ignore the terrible treatment of the locals, who were exploited by the Europeans.<\/p>\n

“He had seen evidence of maltreatment and atrocities before we went up into the rubber plantations, but I think what he saw there shifted his whole view of the colonial experience,” Patrick said. <\/p>\n

“It was a turning point in his life.”<\/p>\n

Roger later worked for the British Consular Service and in 1903 produced a damning report into atrocities he witness in the Congo. <\/p>\n

His exposing of human rights abuses earned him not only international renown and a knighthood, but also a bitter resentment of colonial powers which would eventually lead him to the gallows. <\/p>\n

Dr Reuben Loffman, from Queen Mary University of London, says Roger deserves to be remembered for “taking African voices seriously”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Rebellion<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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Despite being knighted in 1911, Roger had a pivotal role in founding the Irish Volunteers, and publicly canvased for donations as part of the groups bid to end British rule in Ireland. <\/p>\n

In an attempt to capitalise on Britain’s feud with Germany during World War I, he was a principal organiser in the purchase of weapons which were to be shipped from Hamburg.<\/p>\n

Roger, along with fellow rebels Robert Monteith and Daniel Julian Bailey, was ferried back to the coastal waters off Ireland aboard a German u-boat.<\/p>\n

They made their way ashore in a small rowing boat with rifles to be supplied to the armed rebellion known as the Easter Rising. <\/p>\n

The rising was ultimately a military failure and Roger’s involvement led to his conviction for high treason.<\/p>\n

Some of the weapons were retrieved from the seabed and presented as evidence at his trial. <\/p>\n

On 3 August 1916 Roger was hanged in London. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

A divided legacy<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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Supporters of the Northern Ireland football team held banners against Casement Park’s redevelopment<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Some unionist politicians in Northern Ireland have called for any rebuilt stadium on the site of Casement Park to be given a different name<\/a>, and point to several other GAA grounds which have been named after Irish republicans. <\/p>\n

The political changes Roger pursued in the early 20th century are still contested today. <\/p>\n

He is remembered by some as a revolutionary and human rights activist responsible for exposing atrocities in Africa. <\/p>\n

To others, he is a symbol of unwanted rebellion.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Source: <\/em> www.bbc.com\u2026<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Press Association Sir Roger Casement was executed in 1916 for his part in an Irish rebellion In the heart of west Belfast, a derelict stadium named after Irish revolutionary Roger Casement has become the focal point of a complex political row. It’s an argument which goes beyond the hundreds of millions it will cost to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20010"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20010\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}