Shackleton Autumn School returns this weekend

A small contingent from Athy was among the 2,500 people at the Royal Festival Hall, South Bank, London on 12 October last. The occasion was the premiere, at the London Film Festival, of the film Endurance, a documentary produced by National Geographic telling the story of the discovery of Shackleton’s ship Endurance on 5 March 2022, 100 years to the day Shackleton was buried in Grytiken Cemetery, South Georgia.

It was a significant moment for those who have worked assiduously over the last 25 years to raise the profile of the Kildare-born explorer Ernest Shackleton both nationally and internationally. It is a testament to their commitment and drive, coupled with the significant support from Kildare County Council that Athy will have a world-class museum devoted to Shackleton opening towards the end of 2025.

A little later than previous years, the Shackleton Autumn School will run in Athy on the weekend of 8-10 November. It is the 24th successive year in which the Autumn School has been hosted in the town. During Covid, the Autumn School was hosted online by its indefatigable organisers. ‘Virtually Shackleton’, as the online version was titled, was an enormous success, bringing the Shackleton story to a global audience online in 2020 and 2021.

For those of us who couldn’t attend the event in London last month, I am delighted to report that there will be a showing of the Endurance documentary film, in The Abbey, Athy at 8pm on Sunday 10 November.

The screening will be followed by a question-and-answer session with the producer, Ruth Johnson, who is originally from Donegal. Admission is free and as it is expected there will be quite a demand for tickets bookings should be made through the Shackleton Museum’s website, www.shackletonmuseum.com.

The film is only one of many events featured in the Shackleton Autumn School weekend from 8-10 November. There is a full lecture programme on Saturday and Sunday. Jan Chojecki, the grandson of John Quiller Rowett, who financed Shackleton’s last expedition, will be delivering a talk about the colour photography of Shackleton’s last expedition. Coupled with the lecture there will be a small exhibition devoted to these unique coloured photographs which will be well worth viewing.

Philip Curtis of the Map House, London, a specialist dealer in rare and antiquarian maps, will be delivering a lecture on the mapping of Antarctica and I also understand that Philip will be hosting a workshop for Leaving Certificate Geography students of Ardscoil na Tríonóide on Friday morning in The Abbey.

From the United States, the distinguished historian and writer Buddy Levy will be telling the story of the disastrous voyage of the Arctic expedition ship Karluk. The story is one he has told in his book Empire of Ice and Stone which is an excellent read.

Laura Kissel, the director of archives at the Byrd Polar Research Institute in Columbus, Ohio will be talking about George Hubert Wilkins, an Australian who served with Shackleton on his last expedition, who himself was a Polar pioneer and her lecture will focus on the voyage of the American submarine Nautilus to the North Pole.

Closer to home Joe O’Farrell, a longtime member of the Shackleton committee, will be looking at the reputations of many polar explorers, including Shackleton and Scott, while the award-winning playwright and screenwriter Peter Straughan whose films include Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy will be speaking about his work on bringing a screenplay on Shackleton’s life to the big screen.

Other contributors from the USA will include Sabrina Waldron who will look at the life of Frank Worsley, Shackleton’s captain on the Endurance, while Allegra Rosenberg from New York will look at those aficionados drawn to Polar explorers over the last century.

An important part of the Shackleton Autumn School is the variety of events on the afternoon of Sunday 10 November, which will include a bus tour through Shackleton country led by Kilkea-based historian Sharon Greene, while the ‘townies’ amongst us can enjoy a walking tour of medieval Athy with archaeologist Marc Guernon.

Finally, if you are of an active frame of mind Kildare Sports Partnership will be hosting a ‘Pole to Pole’ walk on the Athy Blueway from 2.30pm onwards.

A busy weekend in Athy will also see the return of the Lions Club Book Fair to the ARCH Centre on Saturday from 10am–4pm. It is always a most enjoyable event, with books for all ages and I will encourage all to support both the booksellers and Athy Lions Club in this endeavour.

As ever, those men and women of Athy and district who went to war in 1914-1918 will be commemorated and honoured at the annual commemoration ceremony in old St Michael’s cemetery at 3pm on Sunday 10 November. All are welcome to attend.