Irish Examiner View: Finding Endurance was reminder of great explorer

The ship had not been seen since it was crushed by ice and sank in the Weddell Sea in 1915.

The ship's wheel and aft well deck on the wreck of Endurance, Ernest Shackleton's ship. Picture: Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust

The discovery of the wreck of Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance off the coast of Antarctica brings to mind the age of heroic exploration and, in particular, the extraordinary leadership of the Irish-born adventurer.

As his contemporary Raymond Priestley put it when speaking of the three most notable explorers of the time: “Scott for scientific method, Amundsen for speed and efficiency, but when disaster strikes and all hope is gone, get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton.”