Shackleton Museum: News

CAPTAIN OATES AND KILDARE

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 15:35:00

One hundred years ago, in January 1912, Robert Falcon Scott reached the South Pole. With him werefour others – Dr Edward Wilson, Henry Bowers, Edgar Evans and Capt Laurence Oates.
Since starting the previous November, the work of hauling tons of supplies on their sledges while enduring temperatures so cold that boiling water thrown into the air would instantly freeze was backbreaking. But this was more than a exploring new lands. Somewhere out there in the frozen vastness, a Norwegian team under Raold Amundsen was vying for the honours of first to the South Pole.

Laurence Oates was 31 years old. He was every bit the cavalry officer, schooled at Eton and with a natural love of the horse and all that went with it – hunting, polo and racing. In 1900 he was commissioned into the Inniskilling Dragoons and despatched to regimental headquarters on the Curragh. Months later he was on the way to the Boer war.
Soon after arriving in South Africa, Oates found himself in action. With a detachment of men, he was pinned down in a gulley by opposing forces. The enemy retreated, but not before a sniper shot shattered Oates' thigh. His injury meant emergency surgery and a ship back to England.

As Scott's party approached their destination, they saw a dark object in the distance. With each slogging footstep, it became clearer – it was a Norwegian flag. The footsteps around it and a message told them what they feared most; Amundsen had reached the Pole six weeks earlier. Scott and his party were dejected, something plainly visible in their blistered faces as they posed for a pathetic photograph. Scott scribbled in his diary 'Great God, this is an awful place....'.
And now, they faced a return journey of 800 miles.

Why Scott selected Oates for his polar party remains a mystery. Picking a man with one leg shorter than the other to haul a sledge to the South Pole and back would appear an error of judgement. On the other hand, Oates was brave and tough, and Scott may have felt it politically advantageous to have an Army officer in his team, to join the other Naval members. Either way, it was a fatal decision.

Oates' expertise with horses had been hugely important to the Scott's expedition. He had ensured the animals were in peak condition in the frozen South and had nursed them along the Polar route until they could go no further. Oates had honed his equine ability in a recognised home of the horse – the Curragh of Kildare.

In November 1902, having recuperated from his thigh wound, Oates arrived back to Ponsonby Barracks on the Curragh. For the next three and a half years he indulged his passion for equine pursuits, building a reputation as an accomplished horseman.
In 1904 he attended the spring Punchestown festival, where he rode his horse 'Titus' to third in the Grand Military Cup. Edward V11 and Queen Alexandra stirred the cream of local and National society by attending the meeting. Oates wrote of the experience "I do not think I have enjoyed two days better for a long time than I did in Punchestown".

February 1905 saw him as best man when his friend, and fellow Inniskilling, Richard Morton-Wood married Miss Marguerite Mansfield of Morristown-Lattin. Snowdrops from the estate added the finishing touches to a scene which could have been lifted from Downton Abbey.

The 1905 Punchestown meeting again saw Oates in action. On the opening day he rode 'Titus' in the Irish Military Steeplechase, finishing down the field. 'Blucher', also owned by Oates and ridden by Morton-Wood, was placed.
The weather improved for the second day and the running of the Grand Military Cup. Oates' entry 'Angel Gabriel' had already chalked up some notable victories and started at 8/1 with Morton-Wood aboard. The Kildare Observer reported that "Gabriel was always in the leading division and fenced flippantly" to win by four lengths. The onlooking Oates was so overcome that "my eyes got so full of tears I could not see the horses and had to keep asking the man next to me how my horse was going".

Seven years later, Oates, already suffering from frostbite and the beginnings of gangerine, faced an 800 mile slog for his life.

Insufficient food and the effort of man-hauling the sledge (Amundsen had used dogs) began to take their toll on Scott and his four companions. Evans began to fall behind. On 18th February, they found him on his hands and knees, unable to walk. Later, he died.

By early March, still with 300 miles to go, Oates was spent. His legs were black and raw from gangerene. His old thigh wound had resurfaced. His physical problems were obvious, his moral one hidden as he knew he was slowing down progress and reducing the other's chance of survival.
On 17th March, his 32nd birthday, he did the only thing he could do. It was blowing a blizzard with temperatures around -40F. Oates painfully rose to his feet, said "I am just going outside and I may be some time" before stumbling out of the tent and into oblivion. His body was never found.

Days later, Scott, Bowers and Wilson were pinned down by atrocious weather. They died in that spot, eleven miles from the next food depot.

This Saint Patrick's day marks the centenary of Oates' death, and that of an unlikely link between the short-grass county and the frozen wastes of Antarctica.

NIMROD VOL 5 NOW AVAILABLE

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:26:00

This issue of Nimrod features, for the first time, a piece penned by Shackleton himself, a fascinating insight into the character of the great man. The little known Japanese Antarctic Expedition of 1911 is rightly rescued from obscurity by Chet Ross while Mike Tarver recalls the ships fundamental to polar exploration. Ships are also the centrepiece of Joe O'Farrell's article on the Franklin expedition while David Thomas lauds the role of the ship RV Polarstern in modern scientific work on the polar pack ice.

The research process is humourously dealt with by John F Mann as he reflects on his work on the men of Shackleton's Endurance expedition and Kevin Kenny mines the little known archive of Shackleton material in the Athy Heritage Centre-Museum collection. With the kind permission of the Falkland Islands Journal we reprint two fine articles by the distinguished polar historian A.G.E Jones and Jim McAdam teases out Shackletonnia from the pages of the Falkland Islands Journal.

Copies of Nimrod can be purchased directly from the Athy Heritage Centre-Museum. For it's contact details go to www.athyheritagecentre-museum.ie

Back issues are also available for Vols 1-4.

DEATH OF AN ICON - 90 YEARS AGO TODAY

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:54:00

For Ernest Shackleton, it must have felt like a familiar pattern of adversity. His ship, the Quest, had engine trouble requiring a substantial overhaul in Rio De Janeiro. The subsequent voyage to South Georgia was extremely rough; Christmas Day 1921 produced what Shackleton recorded as the worst storm he had ever encountered at sea. But if Shackleton had one great strength, it was the ability to lead through disappointment and bad fortune until circumstances turned favourable.

The weather improved, and the sighting of an iceberg seemed to restore Shackleton's indomnitable spirit. As the Quest approached the harbour at Grytviken in South Georgia, he was joined on deck by his old comrades from previous expeditions, men like Frank Wild, Charles Green, Frank Worsley and Leonard Hussey who had leaped at the opportunity to sail again with 'The Boss'. The sight of this very place must have released a flood of emotions; in May 1916 with Tom Crean and Frank Worsley he had stumbled into the whaling station in South Georgia to raise the alarm for the ill-fated Endurance expedition, and begin the efforts to rescue his 22 comrades stranded 800 miles away on the icebound and storm ravaged Elephant Island.

But now, as New Year 1922 dawned, everyone felt things were different.

Shackleton had suffered a heart-attack while in Rio de Janiero, but typically would not admit it and insisted on continuing with the stresses of managing the expedition. Doctors Macklin and McIlroy (who had been with Shackleton on a previous expedition) were concerned, but he paid little heed to their advice. On 4^th January, with the Quest anchored in the harbour at Grytviken, he recorded in his diary 'In the darkening twilight I saw a lone star hover, gem like above the bay', before retiring to his cabin.

A matter of hours later, at 2 am on 5^th January, he called Dr Macklin. He requested something to relieve the pain he was suffering in the back and face. As Macklin prepared the medicine, Shackleton suddenly took a severe turn, and died. For someone who had pulled off some of the greatest feats of leadership and bravery, it was a serene departure from life, and in a most appropriate location.

Ernest Shackleton was born in Kilkea on 15^th Febru ary 1874. The family moved to England ten years later, but Shackleton never forgot his Irish roots.

His exploits as a polar explorer are legendary. In 1909, he turned back just 97 miles from the South Pole, surrendering the opportunity of being first to reach it to ensure the survival of his party of explorers Later, he wrote to his wife, by way of explanation, that he thought she would 'prefer a live donkey than a dead lion'. The Norwegian, Raold Amundsen, became the first person to stand at the South Pole in December 1911, while the British team under Robert Falcon Scott reached it just weeks later, before tragically perishing on the return journey.

In the period 1914-1917, Shackleton's bravery and leadership were severly tested on the Endurance expedition. The plan was to make the first crossing of the Antarctic continent. The reality was that the ship, Endurance, was crushed and sank, leaving Shackleton stranded on the floating ice with his crew of 25 men. Pushed to the limits of their survival abilities, they made it to Elephant Island using three lifeboats. The world was unaware of their fate or their whereabouts, and Shackleton had to get help before all perished. His final throw of the dice involved sailing 800 storm tossed miles with five others (including Tom Crean and Tim McCarthy) in a 24 foot lifeboat, making the first crossing of South Georgia to a Norwegian whaling station, before finally rescuing the remaining men from Elephant Island.

Following Shackleton's death 90 years ago on 5^th January 1922, tributes were received from all over the world. His body was returned to South Georgia to be buried, as his wife felt his final resting place should be close to his beloved Antarctic. A few years later, Kildare County Council received his sledging harness via the New Zealand Government to commemorate a great son of the county.

Athy Heritage Centre hosts the only permanent exhibition worldwide to commemorate Ernest Shackleton while the annual Athy Shackleton Autumn School recalls the great explorer's achievements each October.

SCHEDULE FOR 2011 AUTUMN SCHOOL

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 10:41:00

Friday, 28th October

Official Opening & Exhibition Launch

The school will be opened by His Excellency, Mr Ronald Næss, Norwegian Ambassador to Ireland.

7.30pm in Athy Heritage Centre – Museum.

8pm Book Launch

In association with the Erskine Press the school will host the launch of Simon Beaufort's book

'The Nimrod Murders'

Exhibition

Daily Exhibitions – Athy Heritage Centre - Museum

10.00am – 5.00pm - Cold Recall-Reflections of a Polar Explorer, Roald Amundsen

The exhibition was developed by the Fram Museum, Oslo, Norway to showcase images from the lantern slides that Roald Amundsen used in public lectures about his expeditions through the Northwest Passage and to the South Pole with particular emphasis on Amundsen's expedition to the South Pole. The texts in the exhibition are primarily abridged versions of Amundsen’s own manuscripts from these lectures. The exhibition is also complemented by Amundsen material from a number of private collections

Antarctic Adventurers – the Antarctic adventurers will recreate a three man sledging party from the early years of Antarctic exploration.

Saturday, 29th October

Lecture Series Athy Heritage Centre – Museum

10.00am “Notes from a Shackleton Scholar: Heritage Tourism in the South Atlantic”

Emma Jane McAdam

Admission €7

11.30 “'Murder on Shackleton's Nimrod:Writing Antarctic Fiction' ”

Beau Riffenburgh & Liz Cruwys

Admission €7

2.00pm “Roald Amundsen’s and his crew members’ South Pole diaries”

Geir Kløver

Admission €7

Book Launch Athy Heritage Centre - Museum

3.00pm In association with the Collins Press the school will host the launch of 'Ordeal by Ice: Ships of the Antarctic' by Rorke Bryan.The book will be launched by the Hon. Alexandra Shackleton.

4pm “The Lost Photographs of Captain Scott”

David Wilson

Admission €7

Dinner

8pm Autumn School Dinner in Carlton Abbey Hotel, Athy

Sunday, 30^h October Athy Heritage Centre – Museum

Lecture Series

10.00am “The Cinematic Race to the Pole”

Jan Anders Diesen

Admission €7

Book Launch Athy Heritage Centre - Museum

11.00am In association with Reardon Publishing the school will host the launch

of 'Edward Wilson's Antarctic Notebooks' by David & Christopher Wilson

12 noon “Did Shackleton Care about Science"

Dr Edward J Larson

Admission €7

Film Athy Heritage Centre – Museum

2.30pm “The Great White Silence.

Captain Scott described Herbert Ponting as 'an artist in love with his work', and after the expedition's tragic outcome Ponting devoted the rest of his life to ensuring that the grandeur of the Antarctic and expedition's heroism would not be forgotten - the images that he captured have fired imaginations ever since. The BFI National Archive - custodian of the expedition negatives - has restored the film using the latest photochemical and digital techniques and reintroduced the sophisticated use of colour. The alien beauty of the landscape is brought dramatically to life, showing the world of the expedition in brilliant detail.

Presented by Luke McKernan

Admission €7

4.30pm Open Forum chaired by Bob Headland

Drama Athy Community Arts Centre

9.00pm “Catalpa”

Based on the true story of the daring whaleship rescue of six Irish prisoners from Fremantle penal colony in 1876, Catalpa is a story in the great epic tradition of Moby Dick and Gone With The Wind - with a passing glance at The Great Escape. Donal O’Kelly plays over thirty characters in this one-man epic, including the mastermind of the Catalpa mission - Kildareman John Devoy.

Written and performed by Donal O’Kelly, with live music by Trevor Knight.

Admission €10

Monday, 31^st October 2011

Field Trip Assemble at The Heritage Centre – Museum

10.00am Bus tour through Shackleton country. A Visit to Ballitore and the home of Mary Leadbeater, writer and ancestor of Ernest Shackleton, the Quaker Meeting House and the Shaker Store.

Fare €10

Information on Contributors

Emma Jane McAdam

A Falkland Islander by birth, Emma Jane returned to the Islands to carry out the research for her undergraduate dissertation in the Falkland Islands Archives. In 2000, Emma Jane was awarded a Shackleton Scholarship to carry out the research for her postgraduate degree in the Islands, focusing on the potential for heritage tourism in the Falklands. Her work and subsequent report was instrumental in the establishment of the Visitor Centre in Stanley. As a museum professional, Emma Jane has worked in the Scottish museums sector for almost 10 years and is currently Curator at the University of St Andrews.

Dr Beau Riffenburgh

Dr Beau Riffenburgh is a historian affiliated with the Scott Polar Research Institute at the University of Cambridge. His research specialises in the history of exploration, particularly that of the Antarctic, Arctic, and Africa. A native Californian, he had a successful career in publishing before moving to Cambridge, where he earned his PhD and then served for 15 years as the Editor of Polar Record. His books about exploration include the critically acclaimed Myth of the Explorer; Nimrod, the account of Ernest Shackleton’s first expedition; and the award-winning two-volume Encyclopedia of the Antarctic. He has more recently published two books about Douglas Mawson and his Australasian Antarctic Expedition.

Dr Liz Cruwys

Dr Liz Cruwys is a marine biologist from the University of Cambridge, whose academic research investigates environmental contamination in pinnipeds. She has also conducted research into medieval history and architecture, and has written books on castles and cathedrals. This medieval background and her experience on the Leeds police force have given her important insights for the 25 mystery novels she has published under the pseudonym Susanna Gregory. Including her scholarly works, she has written or contributed to more than 60 books, including nine novels with Beau Riffenburgh under the pseudonym Simon Beaufort.

Geir O. Kløver

Geir has been the director of the Fram Museum in Oslo since 2005. He has recently edited and published the diaries of Roald Amundsen and 14 of the other crew members of the Norwegian South Pole Expedition 1910-12. He is currently editing the collected diaries of Fridtjof Nansen and the crew members of the First Fram Expedition. From 1997 to 2005, Geir worked as project director in a Norwegian human rights NGO providing media and communication support to Nobel Peace Prize Laureates. He worked primarily on projects related to Tibet, Burma, East Timor, the Korean peninsula and the AIDS issue.

Dr David Wilson

David is a great nephew of Dr Edward A.Wilson, who perished with Captain Scott's polar party David has a long association with polar matters. The author of a numbers of books, his most recent is The Lost Photographs of Captain Scott. He makes frequent trips to the Antarctic as a historian and ornithological field guide and he is currently Chairman of the Scott 100 Centenary Committee.

Christopher Wilson

Chris is a great nephew of Dr Edward A. Wilson. Before taking early retirement, Chris worked for the National Parks and Wildlife Service, serving as warden of Ireland's premier wildfowl reserve, 'Wexford Wildfowl Reserve'. He regularly contributes to a wide number of wildlife magazines, makes radio and television programs and is an accomplished photographer. His publications include: High Skies - Low Lands - An Anthology of The Wexford Slobs and Harbour and 'Wildfile' - A Guide to Irish Wildlife. Chris lectures extensively on birds and other wildlife groups of Antarctica, Ireland and Australia.

Rorke Bryan

Rorke Bryan has had a lifelong interest in Antarctica, triggered by seeing 'Scott of the Antarctic' as an eight-year old in his native Dublin. The son of a merchant mariner, he has visited many parts of the world during his career with the British Antarctic Survey and in environmental conservation, forestry and development at the Universities of Alberta and Toronto. His interests include sailing, mountaineering and skiing.

Dr. Jan Anders Diesen

Professor of film history at Lillehammer University College, Norway, Jan Anders is an expert on silent Norwegian films and on documentary films. For the last 5 years he has been researching the silent films from polar expeditions, and has published books and articles on Roald Amundsen´s films. To put these Norwegian films into an international context, he has over last three years visited polar archives around the world. He is currently working on a book on explorer´s films from Borchgrevink, Fiala and Bruce to Amundsen, Nobile and Byrd.

Dr Edward J. Larson

He is the Professor of History and holds the Hugh & Hazel Darling Chair in Law at Pepperdine University. His many books include Summer for the Gods - The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate over Science and Religion for which he received the Pulitzer Prize in History: Evolutions Workshop: God and Science on the Galapago's Islands and he has just published An Empire of Ice: Scott, Shackleton, and the Heroic Age of Antarctic Science.

Luke McKernan

Luke McKernan is Lead Curator, Moving Image at the British Library. He is a film archivist and a historian of early and non-fiction film, with a particular interest in films of travel and exploration. He has written books on newsreels, 1890s film and Shakespearean film, and his polar publications include a chapter on Antarctic filmmaking in South: The Race to the Pole and the commentary on the BFI DVD release of South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic.

Bob Headland

Bob is a senior research associate of the Scott Polar Research Institute of the University of Cambridge. He specialises in the history and geography of both polar regions. His work with the Antarctic Heritage Trust involves the preservation of the historical huts and other aspects associated with the exploration of the discovery of the Antarctic. His most recent publication is A Chronology of Antarctic Exploration.

Donal O'Kelly

Donal O’Kelly is a writer and actor. His plays include his solo shows Catalpa, Jimmy Joyced! and Bat the Father Rabbit the Son. Other plays are The Cambria, The Adventures Of The Wet Señor, Vive La, Operation Easter, Asylum! Asylum!, The Dogs, Farawayan and The Hand. As an actor, he has appeared in Translations, Juno and the Paycock and The Tempest in the Abbey, played Lucky in the Gate Theatre’s Waiting For Godot, and on screen played leading roles in Kings, The Van and Spin The Bottle, as well as RTE’s Paths to Freedom and Fair City.

Antarctic Adventurers

The Antarctic Adventures are a group of British re-enactors who specialise in recreating the world of Shackleton, Scott and Amundsen. They perform regularly for museums and English Heritage. They recreate a three man sledging party of the 1901 – 1913 period with clothing, sledges and equipment of the time used by Scot and Shackleton.

EDWARD WILSONS ANTARCTIC NOTEBOOKS

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 09:25:00

Edward Wilson's Antarctic Notebooks, by D.M. Wilson and C.J. Wilson, is due to be published October 2011 by Reardon Publishing, Cheltenham.

The Shackleton school is pleased to be hosting the launch of the book on Sunday the 30th October in the Athy Heritage Centre-Museum.

Dr. Edward A. Wilson (1872-1912) is widely regarded as one of the finest artists ever to have worked in the Antarctic. Sailing with Captain Scott aboard 'Discovery' (1901-1904), he became the last in a long tradition of 'exploration artists' from an age when pencil and water-colour were the main methods of producing accurate scientific records of new lands and animal species. He combined scientific, topographical and landscape techniques to produce accurate and beautiful images of the last unknown continent. Such was the strength of his work that it also helped to found the tradition of modern wildlife painting. In particular Wilson captured the essence of the flight and motion of Southern Ocean sea-birds on paper. Returning with Captain Scott aboard 'Terra Nova' (1910-1913) as Chief of Scientific Staff, he continued to record the continent and its wildlife with extraordinary deftness. Chosen to accompany Captain Scott to the South Pole, his last drawings are from one of the most famous epic journeys in exploration history. Along with his scientific work, Wilson's pencil recorded the finding of Roald Amundsen's tent at the South Pole by Captain Scott. Wilson died, along with the other members of the British Pole Party, during the return journey, in March 1912.
Many of the images in this book are rarely seen or are previously unpublished. The drawings and paintings were created at considerable personal cost in the freezing conditions in which Wilson worked. He often suffered severely from the cold whilst sketching and also from snow-blindness, or sunburn of the eye. They provide a remarkable testament to one of the great figures of the heroic age of Antarctic exploration. The book has been produced as a companion volume to 'Edward Wilson's Nature Notebooks' by two of Wilson's great nephews, to mark the centenary of his death.

AMUNDSEN EXHIBITION

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 12:16:00

In assocation with the Fram Museum, Oslo, Norway this October the Athy Heritage Centre-Museum will feature the exhibition - 'Cold Recall: Reflection of a Polar Explorer'.

The exhibition was developed by the Fram Museum to showcase images from the lantern slides that Roald Amundsen used in public lectures about his expeditions through the Northwest Passage and to the South Pole with particular emphasis on Amundsen's expedition to the South Pole.

The texts in the exhibition are primarily drawn from Amundsen’s own manuscripts from these lectures.

The exhibition is also complemented by Amundsen material from a number of private collections.

The Shackleton School is indebted to the Norwegian Embassy in Ireland and in particular to former Ambassador Öyvind Nordsletten in securing the exhibition for its inaugural staging in Ireland

MURDER AND INTRIGUE ON THE 'NIMROD' EXPEDITION

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 15:34:00

'The Nimrod Murders'

On 30 July 1907, members of the British Antarctic Expedition, led by Ernest Shackleton, sailed down the Thames on the tiny, refurbished sealer Nimrod. Some six months later, in February 1908, the expedition landed in Antarctica. At Cape Royds Shackleton and his companions built a hut and set up camp. They then began their long wait for the following spring, when Shackleton would head into the icy unknown in an attempt to become the first man ever to reach the South Pole. In the worldwide fame and glory that followed the return of Shackleton’s party to civilisation, little was ever said about a dark incident that almost halted the expedition before it ever sailed from London’s East India Docks.

On the eve of departure of the Nimrod to the Antarctic the body of the assistant biologist was found in the East India Docks. Without a doubt he had been murdered.

Raymond Priestly, just short of his 21^st birthday, had been appointed expedition geologist and was one of the first on the scene and it fell to him to undertake an investigation, along with Inspector William Taylor, an old school friend of Shackleton’s, into the events surrounding this dark deed.

He had no knowledge of the danger into which he would soon be plunged.

On Friday the 28th October 2011 the school will host, in association with the the Erskine Press, the launch of Simon Beauforts's new novel 'The Nimrod Murders

Simon Beaufort is the pen name of one of the most distinguised polar historians publishing today.

ORDEAL BY ICE - SHIPS OF THE ANTARCTIC

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 11:30:00

At 3pm on Saturday the 29th October in the Athy Heritage Centre-Museum, the Autumn School, in conjunction with the Collins Press will host the launch of Rorke Bryan's book 'Ordeal by Ice - Ships of the Antarctic.

This richly illustrated book is destined to become the reference book on ships of the Antarctic. Surrounded by some of the most hazardous seas, Antarctica was first sighted less than three centuries ago. Since then, hundreds of ships have voyaged in Antarctic waters, challenged by poorly-charted waters, storms, pack ice, icebergs, and disease. This is the story of these ships, the expeditions they supported, and their subsequent history, from the fifteenth-century fleets of the Ming Emperors of China to the tourist ships and powerful icebreakers of today.
Using extensive research in archives, museums, libraries and private sources around the world, Rorke Bryan brings the stories of these ships into a single, comprehensive record. Familiar names such as Terra Nova and Endurance feature with unfamiliar but equally important ships. From the hundreds of tales of heroic seamanship, the extraordinary 1830-1832 circumnavigation by Captain John Biscoe in the tiny Tula is perhaps matched only by Shackleton’s voyage in the James Caird. Plans, photos, paintings and maps enhance description of the expeditions and activities of the ships. This authoritative work fills an important gap in Antarctic literature.

Rorke Bryan has had a lifelong interest in Antarctica, triggered by seeing 'Scott of the Antarctic' as an eight-year old in his native Dublin. The son of a merchant mariner, he has visited many parts of the world during his career with the British Antarctic Survey and in environmental conservation, forestry and development at the Universities of Alberta and Toronto. His interests include sailing, mountaineering and skiing.

LECTURES FOR 2011 SHACKLETON SCHOOL

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 11:59:00

The Autumn School committee is pleased to announce the final lecture list for the 2011 school.

'Did Shackleton care about Science?'

Dr Edward J Larson, Professor of American History, University of Georgia

'Roald Amundsen's expedition to the South Pole - as seen through his lantern slides and the crew members personal diaries'

Geir O. Kløver,Director of the Fram Museum

'The Cinematic Race to the Poles'

Jan Anders Diesen, Professor of Film & Television Studies, University of Lillehammer

''Murder on Shackleton's Nimrod:Writing Antarctic Fiction"

Dr Beau Riffenburgh & Dr Liz Cruwys, Polar Historians & Authors

'Notes from a Shackleton Scholar : Heritage Tourism in the South Atlantic'

Emma Jane McAdam, Curator, University of St Andrews -

'The Lost Photographs of Captain Scott'

Dr David Wilson, Polar Historian

The full programme for the school will be announced shortly.

'CATALPA' DRAMA COMES TO ATHY - SUNDAY 30TH OCTOBER

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 16:25:00

Written and performed by Donal O’Kelly, with live music by Trevor Knight.

Donal O’Kelly is a writer and actor. His much-travelled solo plays include the award-winning Catalpa (Edinburgh Fringe First, London TimeOut Critics’ Choice, Best Event Melbourne International Festival), Bat The Father Rabbit The Son (Best Writer and Best Actor nominations Irish Theatre Awards), and Jimmy Joyced! (Best Actor nomination Irish Theatre Awards). He has twice been awarded an Irish Arts Council literature bursary, and in 1999 was awarded the Irish American Cultural Institute Butler Literary Award.

His film roles include leading roles in Roddy Doyle’s The Van. On stage, he has played the Lincoln Centre, New York , Toronto Winter Gardens, The Abbey & Peacock as well as touring the UK, Europe, US, Canada and Australia .

He is an associate director of the peace and justice organisation Afri. In 2007 he was elected to Aosdana.

RARE SCOTT FILM TO BE SHOWCASED IN ATHY

Wed, 18 May 2011 11:09:00

This year the school will host a screening of 'The Great White Silence', Herbert Ponting renowed cinematic record of Captain Scott's last expedition. A sensation when first released in 1924 the film has achieved iconic status. A sound version was released in 1933 with the title '90 Degrees South'.

The British Film Institute has restored the 1924 film using the latest digital technology. The result of the restoration gives a stunning sense of the hardships and challenges faced by Scott and his men on the expedition.

The film will be presented by Luke McKernan, Lead Curator of Moving Image at the British Library. Luke is also the founder of 'Bioscope', a website dedicated to the subject of early and silent cinema.

PULITZER PRIZE WINNER TO LECTURE TO SHACKLETON SCHOOL

Thu, 12 May 2011 12:12:00

The Shackleton School is pleased to confirm that Dr Edward J Larsson will lecture at this years Shackleton School. He is the Professor of History and holds the Hugh & Hazel Darling Chair in Law at Pepperdine University. His many books include 'Summer for the Gods - The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate over Science and Religion for which he received the Pulitzer Prize in History: Evolutions Workshop: God and Science on the Galapago's Islands and he has just published 'An Empire of Ice: Scott, Shackleton, and the Heroic Age of Antarctic Science.

His lecture in Athy is titled - 'Did Shackleton care about Science?

SHACKLETON CENTENARY EVENT IN DUBLIN

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 10:29:00

SHACKLETON CENTENARY EVENT 1911-2011

‘NEAREST THE SOUTH POLE’

Monday February 21^st 2011 at 6.30pm (sharp).

The Rotunda Pillar Room, Parnell Square, Dublin 1.

Admission 10 euro strictly by ticket. Available from the Friends of the Rotunda Charity (CHY 240). Proceeds from the event in aid of the Rotunda Hospital’s Clinical Research Fund.

A multimedia event commemorating ‘Nearest the South Pole’, an illustrated lecture by Sir Ernest Shackleton based on the Nimrod South Pole Expedition given in theRotunda Buildings on February 21^st 1911.

During the evening various aspects of both the Antarctic and Arctic regions will be explored and also a spotlight will be cast on the lives of the great Irish explorers Ernest Shackleton and Francis Leopold McLintock (The Lord Franklin Expedition) along with music – theatre, illustrated talks, poetry, song and contemporary newspaper readings. ‘Where a single footprint lasts a thousand years’ , a piece of music-theatre, composed by Michael Holohan and performed by Donal O’Kelly,

Simon O’Dwyer and Michael Holohan will round off the evening’s proceedings.

A unique group of participants will include

Jonathan Shackleton ……………. relative, biologist, explorer.

Neale Webb …………… relative, actor.

Dermot Somers ……………………. explorer, writer, broadcaster.

Donal O’Kelly……………………… playwright, actor.

Joseph Woods ……………………… poet.

Gerry Cullen ……………………… singer, ex. Voice Squad.

Breifne Holohan………………….. guitarist.

Simon O’Dwyer…………………. musician, Prehistoric Music Ireland

Michael Holohan………………… composer, musician

Supported by The Friends of the Rotunda, Dublin City Council, Dublin Unesco City of Literature, The Shackleton International Autumn School, Droichead Arts Centre.

Contacts: Sheila Thompson 01-8722377

friends@rotunda.ie www.friendsoftherotunda.ie

gabrielleholohan@yahoo.com

Michael Holohan 041-9839798 087-2139109

NB. The same event will be repeated in the Droichead Arts Centre, Drogheda on Monday February 28th 2011 at 8pm in aid of ‘Drogheda Cares at Christmas’.

NIMROD VOLUME 4

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 11:09:00

The 2010 edition of 'Nimrod' the Journal of the Ernest Shackleton Autumn School was published in October.

This issue includes reviews of a number of recent polar publications and the following articles

Ten Years A-Growing: the story (so far) of the Shackleton Autumn School by Joe O'Farrell

Censorship, Secret Lives and the story of Scott of the Antarctic by Max Jones

Historic Huts of the Antarctic from the Heroic Age by Robert Headland

Early Arctic Films of Nancy Columbia and Esther Eneutseak by Kenn Harper & Russell Potter

The Great Books of Shackletonia by Michael Rosove

Sir Ernest Shackleton and Fur Sealing in the Falkland Island by Jim McAdam

Copies are available for purchase from the Athy Heritage Centre-Museum. The price is €12 and post and packing is extra. Orders can be made my email (athyheritage@eircom.net) or telephone (00353-598633075).

Nearest the South Pole

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 11:52:00

For lovers of the Snow and Ice!!!

On Saturday 4^th December there will be a special treat for polar enthusiasts and lovers of music, poetry and history. Following a ‘sellout’ at the National Concert Hall in Dublin, Droichead Arts Centre, Drogheda will host 'Nearest the South Pole'.

The performance will consist of two brief audio–visual talks on Ernest Shackleton and Francis Leopold McLintock, poetry, newspaper readings concerning Shackleton’s Nimrod expedition and a moving piece of music-theatre composed and devised by Michael Holohan, Where a single footprint lasts a thousand years. This piece was commissioned for the National Concert Hall Shackleton Centenary and was recently performed at the Shackleton Autumn School.

Jonathan Shackleton and Neale Webb, both cousins of the explorer will contribute to the proceedings. Also taking part will be Donal O’ Kelly the renowned actor and playwright, Simon O Dwyer, Prehistoric Music Ireland, the Drogheda poet Joseph Woods, Director of Poetry Ireland, Dermot Somers the explorer and broadcaster, Gerry Cullen, the well known singer, Breifne Holohan, guitar, and the voice of Ernest Shackleton himself.

As a Christmas treat mulled wine and mince pies will be provided at the interval.

Tickets for the show can be purchased from the box-office 041-9833946 or