Army's top man to lead ceremony for Edward Bransfield, the Corkman who spotted Antartica

The Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces will give the keynote address at the unveiling of a monument to commemorate the Irishman acknowledged as the first person in the world to officially record spotting Antarctica.

Vice Admiral Mark Mellett will deliver a speech this Saturday January 25 on Edward Bransfield as a monument is unveiled to his memory in his native village of Ballincurra, Co Cork, 200 years after he first noted the continent.