Ireland should ‘reclaim’ Shackleton, says author

The author of a new book on Ernest Shackleton has said Ireland should “reclaim” the famous Polar explorer.

Michael Smith — who also wrote Tom Crean: Antarctic Explorer — said it was surprising that Shackleton was not a more prominent figure in recent Irish history.

Shackleton was born in Kilkea House near Athy, Co Kildare, in 1874 and spent much of his childhood there, before his father moved the family from Dublin to England.