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.

He was a member of Captain Robert Scott’s Discovery team, before then getting to within 97 miles of the South Pole on the 1908 Nimrod expedition.

However, it was the Endurance expedition of a century ago which cemented his legend, with the ship being crushed in the ice, sparking a remarkable journey to safety for his crew.

Smith said: “It’s not for me as an outsider to say who should [Ireland] commemorate and whose statues they should put up but I would say, if asked, yes, I really think they should [commemorate him].

“To me it is extraordinary that in Ireland, the only commemoration to Shackleton is a tiny plaque on the wall of a house in Donnybrook in Dublin, where he lived as a child.

“I would say that it’s time that Ireland most certainly did recognise Shackleton and erect a statue in an appropriate place.”