Freedom and flowers blossom under Roger Casement’s gentle care

The revolutionary hero was executed by the same empire that once knighted him, writes Fiann Ó Nualláin.

One hundred years ago today, the unstoppable revolution was gathering momentum. Many of my childhood heroes were cleaning their guns and polishing their boots, readying for the go.

OK, I know the axle is already groaning under the commemoration bandwagon and while the timing of this article rhymes with the week that’s in it, it is not an attempt to crowbar in a nationalist hero for the sake of it — rather it’s a chance to look at a horticultural hero who happens to also be a national one — Roger Casement.