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Banna Strand
Sir Roger Casement
While serving as a British civil servant in the Congo Sir Roger Casement saw how the native inhabitants were maltreated by Europeans and he saw similarities with the way the Irish were treated by the British. Back in Ireland Sir Roger Casement began to work for the Irish Volunteer Force (IVF) as a fund-raiser in the United States of America.
In November 1914 Sir Roger Casement went to Germany. On the principle that enemies of Great Britain were the allies of Ireland it was his intention to establish an Irish Brigade made up from Irish prisoners of war. Equipped with German arms the Irish Brigade would launch a rebellion in Ireland, therewith forcing the British to fight on two fronts. Germany was not unfavourably disposed towards Casement's idea, but the prisoners of war simply refused to commit treason by taken up arms against the army they served.
Sir Roger Casement deemed the existence of an Irish Brigade, consisting of well-trained soldiers equipped with German arms, vital for a successful rising. Consequently Casement, who took the failed attempt very personally, opposed against the idea of a rising in 1916. To hearten Casement and to regain his support for an upcoming rising Joseph Plunkett was sent to Germany in 1915.
Probably Plunkett spook highly of the military skills of the Irish Volunteer Force (IVF) and the Irish Citizens Army (ICA). The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) did not really needed the skills brought in by an Irish Brigade, but they did have an urgent need for arms and ammunition.
The Aud
Germany had already put approximately 20,000 riffles (mainly outdated Mosin-Nagant Model 1891 cast-off from captured Russian depots), 1,000,000 rounds of ammunition, ten machine guns and some explosives at Casement's disposal and under the conscientious care of Joseph Plunkett he went for a ship to transport the small arsenal to Ireland. The ship they found suitable was the Libau.
The Libau, originally christened Castro, once belonged to a British shipping company, but was taken as a prize by a German torpedo boat at the beginning of the First World War.
On 21 March 1916 the command of the Libau was assigned to the 28 years old Captain Karl Spindler. Without disclosing all ins and outs of the coming mission Spindler was ordered to select five officers and 16 crew members, all young and unmarried, from several sections of the navy. During the journey from Hamburg, her home port, to Luebeck the crew exchanged their navy uniforms with uniforms used by a Norwegian trading company. They also had to unlearn the military custom such as saluting. Not only the crew, but also the ship and her interior was transformed as if it was a Norwegian, thus neutral, vessel. Up to the certificates, charts, bedlinen and canned food no detail was left untouched.
Between 21 March and the first week of April Captain Spindler met Sir Roger Casement in Berlin whenever possible and bit by bit he learned the details of the mission. During one of these meetings Spindler put forward that the fact that none of the crew members spoke Norwegian might awake suspicion, but he was sure he could confound the British with a mishmash of German dialects if needed.
In Luebeck the Libau took in the arms and ammunition as well as general trading goods to camouflage the main cargo. On 9 April 1916 the Libau left the port of Luebeck. Under the cover of darkness the vessel was renamed in Aud Norge, after a Norwegian vessel of similar signature, and on the stern Bergen appeared as her home port. For reasons not completely understood it was decided that Sir Roger Casement would not sail with the Aud. Instead he embarked a German submarine, or U-boat, which was to joined with the Aud in Tralee Bay.
Soon the language issue, although foreseen by Spindler, surfaced unexpectedly in the Sound, a narrow yet busy channel between Sweden and Denmark. Somehow Spindler managed to hoax the Scandinavian skippers and pilots.
Once on the open seas the Aud disguised her destination by heading north-west, along the Shetlands, all the way to Rockall, a tiny islet in the North Atlantic, where she got caught in bad weather. After Rockall the Aud turned and, while throwing unnecessary cargo overboard to gain speed, headed for Tralee Bay.
The Aud arrived in Tralee Bay at the agreed time, but her signals went unanswered. Spindler decided to spent the night hiding behind one of the Magharee Islands, although at this point he knew intuitively that the mission had failed.
At dawn a ship carrying a pilot flag approached the Aud. Spindler, under the impression that this pilot vessel was sent to pick up the arms, set the recognition signals. Much to his surprise the approaching vessel, the Shatter II, responded by hoisting the English flag of war.
Obviously the captain of the Shatter II wanted to know why the Aud hung around in Tralee Bay and where she was bound. The captain accepted the explanation of Spindler that the ship was bound for Italy, but that the cargo required re-stowing after being dislodged in the storm near Rockall. Aided by the liberal supply of whiskey on the Aud the formal inspection soon turned into a amicable drinking spree during which Spindler learned that the British were on the look-out for a German cruiser carrying arms for Irish rebels. By then Spindler knew that the mission not only had failed, but that it was betrayed. As soon as possible Spindler fled from Tralee Bay and raised the alarm. This radio message never reached the U-boat carrying Sir Roger Casement, but it was received by the British
The adventure of the Aud came to an end with the capture of the Aud by the British navy on the Friday prior to Easter 1916. While being escorted to Cork the crew of the Aud sank the ship, identified themselves as sailors of the German navy and surrendered.
Although wrecked the Aud and its cargo remained a safety hazard. Due to its location near Cork Harbour it was not inconceivable that the wreck could be used as cover by German submarines. Besides, the arms could be salvaged by rebels. To eliminate these risks the Aud has been the target for depth charges and wire sweeps by the British navy several times. Whatever was left of the wreckage was used after the independence by the Irish navy for target practise.
Banna Strand
Sir Roger Casement, who had followed the transport with an U-boat, was dropped near Banna Strand. Unfortunately the Irish Volunteer Force (IVF) expected him to arrive on the beach near Ballyheigue.
Without transport Sir Roger Casement stayed that night in the abandoned McKenna Fort were he was found and arrested by the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC). Probably the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) had no idea who he was, but the appearance of the Aud and the German documents on his person made Sir Roger Casement a suspect. He was taken to the Ardfert Barracks where he spoke with the priest Francis Ryan. He asked him to persuaded the Irish Volunteer Force (IVF) to postpone the rising and to wait for additional German arms and support.
Sir Roger Casement was taken to the Tower of London and charged with treason. Despite several petitions for reprieve from people in Britain and the United States of America he was hanged in Pentonville Prison on 3 August 1916.
Although Sir Roger Casement was indirectly involved in the Easter Rising he was not connected with the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB). Consequently he is not commonly included in the list of men who are executed for their involvement in the Rising of 1916. Their is no doubt in our mind however that Casement would be respected for his efforts if the gun running has succeeded.
The song Banna Strand tells the story of the failed transport, while Roger Casement is memorised in a song with his name.