‘I feel I left him down’, says Tom Crean’s granddaughter

A RTÉ radio documentary is set to capture the bravery of the granddaughter of lrish polar hero Tom Crean as she battled katabatic winds, sheer cliffs and some of the roughest seas in the world to follow in his intrepid footsteps.

Kerry explorer Tom Crean is famous for surviving against all the odds during his three trips to the Antarctic, but his granddaughter has her own story of survival after following in his footsteps to mark the 100th anniversary of his role in Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance Expedition to the Antarctic.

Late last year, on the 100th anniversary, Tom’s granddaughter Aileen, her two sons, Morgan and Cian, and her partner Bill Sheppard sailed for Antarctica to follow the men’s journey across South Georgia.