MI5 papers released today allege that a British diplomat in Norway conspired to have Sir Roger Casement killed with a sharp blow to the head, possibly some time between July 1914 and his landing in Ireland in 1916.
The killing was to take place in a crowded street in Berlin where Casement, unable to speak or understand German, was to be denounced by his Norwegian "man Friday", Alder Christensen, as a British spy.
A prior arrangement had been made with a Berlin mob, anxious for a fight, to pounce on Casement, and according to Christensen he had been ordered to "give Casement a blow on the head" during the ensuing melee "and no one will ever know who killed him".
However, the would-be assassin, who was offered £5,000 to arrange Casement's demise, simply played along with the plot and remained loyal to his friend - and Casement continued on his journey. The details of the assassination plot later surfaced in New York where Casement wrote an article about it in New York America newspaper.
A preface to the article written by the editor noted speculation that Mr Findlay, the British consul general in Christiana (now Oslo), had offered money "to do away with the Irish patriot".
Afterwards, Casement wrote an open letter to his friend Sir Edward Grey in London, recalling the detail of the assassination plot.