Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance voyage is one of the most famous in all of human exploration.
Shackleton and his men did not succeed in their quest to cross Antarctica from one side to another in 1914-1915, but they managed to achieve something even more inspiring.
Shackleton’s ship was crushed by the weight of ice in the Weddell Sea, leaving his men at imminent risk of isolation and starvation.
Along with five other men, he then made a celebrated journey in the James Caird lifeboat to South Georgia, where they reached a whaling station. He returned for his other men. Despite all the privations they endured, not a single one of the 22 men was lost.
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Shackleton’s hometown of Athy, Co Kildare has reopened the Shackleton museum in his honour with a €7.5 million redevelopment.
The most striking addition is a new glass extension in Emily Square in the shape of an iceberg.
The highlight of the greatly expanded exhibition will be the cabin from The Quest, the ship Shackleton was on for his last voyage.
The explorer died of a heart attack at the age of 47 on January 5th, 1922 in South Georgia, the island that will be forever associated with his reputation as an explorer.
The cabin, in which he died, was saved and has been restored by a Connemara conservation expert Sven Habermann.
The exhibition includes a sledge and harness used on the Nimrod Expedition, replica modes of the Endurance and Quest along with the James Caird lifeboat.
