TALKS & DISPLAYS

Tom Crean Talk
Let Maeve take you through the life of Tom Crean, The Unsung Hero. Maeve is a member of the Tom Crean Society and has also made a recent expedition to Antarctica, celebrating 100 years of the great Antarctic Expedition, to follow the footsteps of this great man and his fellow travellers.

Tom Crean was born in Co. Kerry in 1877. He worked with Sir Ernest Shackleton on the remarkable voyage of Endurance. Previous to this, the frozen wastes lured him twice, each time with Captain Robert Falcon Scott. The first of Scott's expeditions, the voyage of Discovery, lasted from 1901 to 1904. The second, and fatal one, began in 1910 and went on for three years. Scott and his party reached the Pole on January 17th 1912, but perished on the return trek. Crean was in the relief party that found Scott's frozen body. Crean himself had been within 180 miles of the pole. He retired from the Navy as a Warrant Officer, was decorated with sword at Buckingham Palace and was awarded several medals including the Albert medal for saving the life of Evans. He built the South Pole Inn in Annascaul where he lived out his days with his wife Nell and daughters Eileen and Mary. He died in 1938 and is buried in Ballinacourty.