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Application to Reinter Sir Roger Casement in County Antrim
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Application to Return Casement’s Remains
The Roger Casement Commemoration and Re-interment Association has lodged a formal exhumation licence request with Dublin City Council and Glasnevin Cemetery. The proposal seeks to move Sir Roger Casement’s remains from Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin to Murlough Bay, County Antrim, on land offered by local owner Patrick McCarry. The association’s chair, Alan Daly, said the application follows “many months of preparation” and is co-signed by Casement’s surviving relative, James Casement of Arizona, United States. The group hopes to receive the licence “without any further delay” so the reburial can proceed.
Historical Background
Sir Roger Casement, a former British diplomat and Irish nationalist, was tried and hanged at Pentonville Prison in London on August 3, 1916. He was initially interred in the prison’s quicklime-filled cemetery. In 1965, his body was exhumed and reburied in Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin, on the condition that it not be taken north of the border. In a letter dated July 25, 1916, Casement wrote that he did not want his body to remain in England and asked to be returned to the “green hill at Murlough…”.
Official Statements & Support
He noted the involvement of James Casement, a direct descendant, and expressed confidence that Dublin City Council will grant the necessary licence. The application is being processed with the assistance of Phoenix Law and O’Neill’s Funeral Directors, who are handling the logistical and legal aspects of the proposed reinterment.
Verbatim Quote
“Don't let my body lie here - get me back to the green hill at Murlough, by the McGarry's house, looking down on the Moyle, that's where I'd like to be now, and there's where I'd like to lie.” — Sir Roger Casement
What’s Next
The association awaits approval of the exhumation licence from Dublin City Council. If granted, the remains will be transferred to Murlough Bay for burial on the land owned by Patrick McCarry, fulfilling Casement’s expressed wish to be laid to rest in his native County Antrim.