Rory Carroll
Journalist & Author
A Rebel and a Traitor: a Fugitive, the Manhunt and the Birth of the IRA
In all good bookshops from 26 March 2026
The story of Roger Casement and Reginald ‘Blinker’ Hall, the mercurial spy chief who sought to destroy him, and his cause, by any means.
It was a duel between two very different men – one trying to save an empire, the other trying to create a nation - waged in the shadows of the first world war. The game of cat-and-mouse played out in London, Berlin, New York and Dublin with a supporting cast of codebreakers, swindlers, gunrunners and fanatics. The Easter 1916 Rising erupts in these pages but the story continues to a quieter, devastating coda.
It may read like a novel but is non-fiction. I combed diaries, letters, police reports, memoirs, court transcripts, secret service archives and declassified government files to create a propulsive story that resonates today. Its aftermath still echoes through Anglo-Irish relations and raises profound questions about honour, courage and the price of patriotism. I am indebted to an outstanding researcher, Steve Ramsay, who peeled back layers of the historical record to establish, as much as possible, what really happened.
Media & Interviews
REVIEWS
"... deeply researched and fascinating account of Casement’s role in the creation of the Irish state"
- Oliver Bullough, The Guardian
"The book is a terrifically readable account of a fascinating figure"
- Max Hastings, The Sunday Times (paywall)
"This latest version of the Casement story is a rapidly-paced, expert marshalling of a huge range of characters and locations, written with brio. It is a thrilling account of one of the most unpredictable, memorable and poignant figures in our history."
- Julian Girdham, The Irish Times (paywall)
"Carroll elucidates the historical context of Casement's scheme with balance and verve... told like an old-school espionage tale". ★★★★☆
- Sarah Watling, The Telegraph
"Diplomat turned revolutionary Sir Roger Casement went to the gallows having failed in his plot to encourage a German invasion in support of the Irish uprising in the spring of 1916. The story of Sir Roger Casement is now retold in a brilliant new book by the Irish writer Rory Carroll."
- Leo McKinstry, Daily Express (paywall)
"A page-turning account of the Easter Rising", "as gripping as its predecessor, combining a close narrative focus with an ever-present sense of wider context, telling the human stories at the heart of an epochal political episode."
- Bernard Hughes, The Arts Desk
"Rory Carroll's new biography finds a fresh way to tell Roger Casement's story in a pacy, effective narrative"