Pupils follow in Crean’s footsteps on Antarctic voyage

EIGHT secondary school students are packing their bags for the adventure of a lifetime in which they will retrace the journey of Antarctic explorers Robert F Scott, Ernest Shackleton and Tom Crean.

The expedition will be led by explorer Pat Falvey and it is being organised to heighten awareness among teenagers about global warming and other environmental issues.

Eight scientists will lead the expedition which commences on November 7. The party will return on December 3.

Mayor John Gilligan yesterday gave one of the two Limerick students taking part a send-off reception at Limerick City Hall.

Shane Wharton, 15, a transition year student at St Nessan’s College said: “I was chosen because of the survival skills I learned with Caherdavin scouts. A girl in my class is related to Tom Crean and she has been telling me about him.”

Limerick explorer Ger McDonnell, who died on K2, has been remembered by the organisers and a student from his old school in Kilcornan, Sinead Walsh, has been selected to take part.

The Irish explorers will be based on a ship, Ushuaia, on which they will carry out a variety of experiments each day.

Shane, who plans to go on and study energy conservation at Limerick Institute of Technology, said: “We will set up our own blog and report back to our schools two times a day doing scientific experiments.”