Tuesday, October 28 Unveling for Rainbow Honor Walk Plaque for Roger Casement
Tuesday, October 28 Unveiling for Rainbow Honor Walk Plaque for Roger Casement
Media contacts:
David Perry & Associates, Inc / news@davidperry.com / (415) 676-7007
Elizabeth Creely, Cultural Officer, Consulate General of Ireland /Elizabeth.creely@dfa.ie / (415) 494-1487
Ireland’s LGBTQ+ Hero Roger Casement Honored
on San Francisco’s Rainbow Honor Walk
www.rainbowhonorwalk.org
Plaque Unveiling Ceremony:
Tuesday, October 28 at 4pm at 501 Castro Street
24 October 2025 — San Francisco, CA: The Consulate General of Ireland and the Rainbow Honor Walk (www.rainbowhonorwalk.org) will commemorate the life and legacy of Roger Casement — Irish patriot, humanitarian, and LGBTQ+ trailblazer — with a bronze plaque installed on San Francisco’s world famous “Gay Main Street.” The plaque will be unveiled at 4pm on Tuesday, October 28, in the Bank of America Plaza at 501 Castro Street, joining 44 other permanent tributes to notable LGBTQ+ individuals who have shaped world history and culture.
“We are gratified to work with the Rainbow Honor Walk and the United Irish Societies to celebrate the life of Roger Casement, an Irish patriot and peerless human rights campaigner,” said Micheál Smith, Consul General of Ireland to the Western United States. “He stood up for the oppressed across continents and ultimately for the freedom of his own country. He was a gay man, whose truth when spoken in his lifetime was used against him. His memory today reminds us that the cause of equality and human dignity is universal and enduring”.
The ceremony will feature remarks from Neale Richmond, TD, Ireland’s Minister of State for International Development and Diaspora, Consul General Smith and members of the Rainbow Honor Walk Board. Representatives from Tourism Ireland, the United Irish Societies and community leaders will also attend.
“Never has it been more important than now to celebrate our LGBTQ heroes and heroines,” said Donna Sachet, President of the all-volunteer nonprofit Rainbow Honor Walk. “We are so honored and gratified that the Irish Consulate here in San Francisco is helping us lift up one such hero, Roger Casement.”
“The support we’ve received from the entire Irish and Irish American community has been extraordinary,” said Charlotte Ruffner, Vice President, Rainbow Honor Walk, noting the contributions of local Irish contractors to the effort. “Joe Whyte of LVI Engineering, and Mark Gorman of Gorman Pipeline, Inc., — Grand Marshal of San Francisco’s 2025 St. Patrick’s Day Parade — have each donated their professional installation services. We couldn’t have done it without them.”
“The United Irish Societies of San Francisco are thrilled to have taken part in this Casement plaque installation- it is truly an honor to help commemorate such an important figure,” said Hilda Kissane, President, United Irish Societies. “ I am looking forward to seeing the plaque in place, and feel immense pride and excitement for how it will inspire others.”
Founder of the Rainbow Honor Walk, David Eugene Perry, also expressed his gratitude.
“30 years ago, my idea for paying tribute to our LGBTQ history has now, literally, spread across the ocean,” said Perry, who along with his husband, Alfredo Casuso, helped initiate the “Rainbow Cities” exchange between Cork, Ireland and San Francisco. “I couldn’t be prouder that the rainbow torch has now been passed to a new generation of Honor Walk leadership.”
About Roger Casement (1864–1916):
A diplomat turned activist, Roger Casement remains one of Ireland’s most complex and inspiring historical figures — a man of profound moral conviction and compassion. After joining the British Foreign Ministry in 1901 and serving as Consul at Boma in the Congo, Casement investigated and exposed human rights abuses under King Leopold II’s brutal regime. His groundbreaking “Casement Report” (1904) helped end a 23-year reign of terror in the so-called “Congo Free State,” forcing international reform.
Casement later turned his moral courage toward his homeland, becoming a fervent supporter of Irish independence. Arrested for his role in the Easter Rising of 1916, he was executed in London that same year. Only decades later did the world begin to acknowledge the injustice done to him — not only as a revolutionary, but as a gay man persecuted for his truth and identity.
About the Rainbow Honor Walk:
The Rainbow Honor Walk is a nonprofit organization that celebrates LGBTQ+ pioneers and trailblazers with bronze sidewalk plaques in San Francisco’s Castro District. Each plaque honors a historic figure who made a significant impact on history, culture, and civil rights. For more information, visit www.rainbowhonorwalk.org.
