PRESIDENT Michael D Higgins will be in Athy to open the annual Shack-leton School, which takes place over the October bank holiday weekend.
The official of the Autumn School takes place on Friday 26 October at 7.15pm.President Higgins will also launch an exhibition, which tells the story of Captain Robert Falcon’s Scott’s 1910-1912 Terra Nova expedition to the Antarctic.
In addition to the exhibition the weekend will feature a series of lectures including on on the lives of Mrs Shackleton and the other Polar wives.
Shackleton School organizer Seamus Taaffe says that the attendance of the President illustrates the importance of the school. “We are delighted that President Higgins will be joining us and opening the Shackleton School and his presence here shows how important the school is for people in Ireland and abroad who are interested in polar exploration. The school is now in its 12th year and this year the focus is on Captain’s Scott’s last expedition. Our exhibition will feature items from the Polar Museum in Cambridge, Dundee’s Discovery Museum and Kerry County Museum.”
People from several continents are expected to arrive in Athy for the event including staff from the Fram Polar Museum in Oslo. Other guests of honour at the weekend include a grandson of Captain Scott and Alexandra Shackleton who is a granddaughter of Sir Ernest Shackleton.
