Rainbow Honor Walk Celebrates 19th Century Diplomat Roger Casement at Namesake Mission District Bar

Rainbow Honor Walk leaders and board members held a benefit to celebrate their latest honoree, Roger Casement (1864–1916), at Casements Bar (2351 Mission Street) on Thursday, September 4, 2025. President of the organization, Donna Sachet, who is also a San Francisco Bay Times columnist, served as emcee. Fellow Bay Times columnist and Rainbow Honor Walk board member Dr. Bill Lipsky, who wrote a detailed piece about Casement for the August 28, 2025, issue (https://bit.ly/4mVPg45), also attended, along with the nonprofit’s founder, David Perry, and numerous others.

Guests of honor included the Consul General of Ireland, Micháel Smith; Matthew Rothschild; and Hilda Kissane, who is the President of the United Irish Societies.

The event, which included live Irish music, a no-host bar, appetizers, and giveaways, was sponsored by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman, who is also a Bay Times columnist; and Supervisor Matt Dorsey.

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Unveiled at the event was an image of the bronze plaque of Casement that will be installed in the Castro as part of the Rainbow Honor Walk. The event, which benefited the nonprofit, was appropriately located at the San Francisco Irish bar named after Casement. As Dr. Lipsky shared in the previous issue, Casement was an Irish born diplomat who bravely exposed human rights abuses in Africa and South America. Casement was knighted, but later executed in the U.K. for his role in the 1916 Easter Rising. During his trial, he was exposed as a homosexual, which many believed fueled hatred of him at the time and drew attention away from his once-lauded humanitarian efforts.

Casement’s plaque is scheduled to be installed at Hibernia Beach (around Castro and 18th streets) later this year. For updates and more information about the Rainbow Honor Walk: https://rainbowhonorwalk.org/

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Published on September 11, 2025