27th - 30th Oct., 2006» Lectures

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“By Endurance we Conquer”

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����������Athy Heritage Centre - Museumpresents

Th e 6thERNESTSHACKLETONAUTUMN SCHOOL

Sir Ernest ShackletonBorn close to the village of Kilkea, between

Castledermot and Athy, in the south of County Kildare in 1874, Ernest Shackleton is renowned for his courage, his commitment to the welfare of his comrades and his immense contribution to exploration and geographical discovery. Th e Shackleton family fi rst came to south Kildare in the early years of the eighteenth century. Ernest’s Quaker forefather, Abraham Shackleton, established a multi-denominational school in the village of Ballitore. Th is school was to educate such notable fi gures as Napper Tandy, Edmund Burke, Cardinal Paul Cullen and Shackleton’s great aunt, the Quaker writer, Mary Leadbeater. Apart from their involvement in education, the extended family was also deeply involved in the business and farming life of south Kildare.

Having gone to sea as a teenager, Shackleton joined Captain Scott’s Discovery expedition (1901 – 1904) and, in time, was to lead three of his own expeditions to the Antarctic. His Endurance expedition (1914 – 1916) has become known as one of the great epics of human survival. He died in 1922, at South Georgia, on his fourth expedition to the Antarctic, and – on his wife’s instructions – was buried there.

Athy Heritage Centre - MuseumAthy Heritage Centre was established to celebrate the vibrant socio-historic legacy of the area. It houses

material and audio-visual programmes that chronicle the ancient, medieval, nineteenth and twentieth-century lives and achievements of the people of the town and its hinterland.

Athy Heritage Centre is home to the only permanent exhibition anywhere devoted to Ernest Shackleton. Highlights include an original sledge and harness from his Antarctic expeditions, a 15-foot model of Shackleton’s ship Endurance, an exhibition of unique Shackleton family photographs and an audio-visual display featuring Frank Hurley’s fi lm footage of the Endurance expedition.

Th e Centre also houses material on the Great War and its eff ects on Athy; the industrial and social eff ects of the canal in Athy life; information on the Gordon-Bennett race, which is celebrated annually in the town, and a wide range of seasonal exhibitions which refl ect on life past and present in this vibrant community.

Highlight of the year, at the Centre, is the Shackleton Autumn School, which was established to commemorate the explorer in the county of his birth. It provides a forum for discussion and debate on polar exploration and the presentation of artistic works relevant to Shackleton and his time.

Offi cial Opening &Shackleton Memorial Lectureby Senator David Norris7pm in Athy Heritage Centre - Museum

FRIDAY 27th October

David NorrisA member of the Irish Senate, a distinguished Joycean scholar and Academic, David Norris is one of the most signifi cant fi gures in Irish political and cultural life today. He has shown outstanding courage as a human rights campaigner.

Music The Castle Inn 9.00 pm “The Boss - A life told in story and song”

Cliff WedgburyA one hour performance piece recently devised by guitarist, singer/songwriter and performance poet Cliff Wedgbury, featuring the Antarctic voyages undertaken by Ernest Shackleton, in the company of Scott, Wild, Worsley and Crean. The performance includes his own compositions, ‘The Ballad of Ernest Shackleton’ and ‘The Ballad of Tom Crean’.Admission €5

Lecture Series Athy Heritage Centre - Museum10.30 am “Return to South Georgia”

Seamus McCannAdmission €5

12 noon “The Ross Sea Party - the harrowing story of the Ross Sea Party - the forgotten story of Shackleton’s Endurance Expedition”.Joe O’Farrell Admission €5

2.30 pm “Shackleton’s Way – the making of a bestseller”Margot MorrellAdmission €5

4.00 pm “Northabout - Polar Circumnavigation” Jarlath CunnaneAdmission €5

Music & Storytelling Whites Castle, Athy3.00 pm “The Boss - A life told in story and song” (Children’s Version)

Cliff WedgburyAdmission €2 (Limited seating)

Dinner Clannard Court Hotel, Athy8.00 pm Inaugural Autumn School Dinner

Admission €30.00

SATURDAY 28th October

Daily Exhibitions Athy Heritage Centre - MuseumErnest Shackleton Exhibition - Includes a scale model of the Endurance, artefacts relating to Shackleton’s expeditions and his Quaker ancestry and an audio-visual display.“Shackleton’s men” - The exhibition traces the individual life stories of the men who served with Shackleton on his 1914-1916 Imperial Trans-Antarctic expedition through the use of images, artefacts and text. Curated by John F. Mann.Antarctic Adventurers - We welcome back again the Antarctic Adventurers who will recreate a three man sledging party from the early years of Antarctic Exploration.Art Competition Winners Exhibition - Their work on ‘Antarctic Wildlife’ will be on display.

10.00 am to 5.00 pm

Lecture Series Athy Heritage Centre - Museum10.30 am “Antarctic Sites outside the Antarctic - memorials,

statues, houses, graves and the occasional pub” Robert StephensonAdmission €5

12 noon “Attainment of the North Pole, a historical account”Dr. Bob HeadlandAdmission €5

Film Athy Heritage Centre - Museum2.30 pm “With Byrd at the South Pole” - released in 1936 this is

an Oscar winning documentary of the U.S. Navy Rear- Admiral Byrd’s journey to the Antarctic together with his famous fi rst fl ight over the South Pole.Admission €6

Lecture Series Athy Heritage Centre - Museum4.30 pm Open Forum

Admission free

Drama Athy Heritage Centre - Museum9.00 pm “A Father for my Son” - based on the life of Captain

Scott’s wife Kathleen by Jenny Coverak and Robert Edwards performed by Jenny Coverak.Admission €6

Field Trip Assemble at The Heritage Centre - Museum10.00 am Bus tour to Shackleton country. A visit to Ballitore

and the home of Mary Shackleton-Leadbeater, writer and ancestor of Ernest Shackleton, the Quaker Meeting House and the Shaker Store where Colm Walsh will launch the Future Folk Archive for County Kildare. Refreshments available in the Shaker Store tea-rooms. Led by John MacKenna.Tickets €5

SUNDAY 29th October

MONDAY 31st October

Information on Contributors

SEAMUS McCANN He joined the British Antarctic Survey in 1975 and went to South Georgia to study elephant seals. He was also involved in a project looking at the recovery of the Antarctic fur seal population from former over-exploitation between 1975 and 1978. He returned to Cambridge to write up the results of the work and completed his PhD. He made four trips to the Antarctic, the last one being in the 1986/’87 season.

JOE O’FARRELLA lifelong student of polar history, and a frequent researcher at the Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge, Joe O’Farrell has lectured on the heroic age of polar exploration and has contributed to several books and journals on the subject. He has visited Antarctica, following in the footsteps of Shackleton to Elephant Island and South Georgia, and also in pursuit of his other great interests, has twice visited the remote island of Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic Ocean. A previous speaker at the Shackleton Autumn School, Joe has been invited back to reprise the public lecture he gave on “The Ross Sea Party” at The National Museum of Ireland in 2005.

MARGOT MORRELLWith a long and distinguished career in America working in fi nancial services and consulting, she is the acclaimed co-author with Stephanie Capparel, of the book “Shackleton’s Way”. The book was a huge international success and has been published in over 14 languages. The book examines the success of Shackleton’s leadership skills and draws on it to give some insights into the nature of man management and leadership success.

JARLATH CUNNANERetired construction manager, boat builder and adventurer he was the recipient of the prestigious Blue Water Medal from the Cruising Club of America in 2006. The award was in recognition of his achievements as skipper and builder of the Irish Yacht, Northabout which completed the fi rst east to west polar circumnavigation in October 2002. He has sailed throughout the North Atlantic and Mediterranean and built and sailed the ‘Tom Crean’, the replica of Shackleton’s James Caird used in the South Aris expedition.

ROBERT STEPHENSONCo-ordinator of the acclaimed Antarctic Circle website, his interest in the Antarctic goes back to his student days at Dartmouth College. Credited with the fi nest Antarctic collection in private hands he has contributed to numerous exhibitions and publications on Antarctica. Currently he is working on a history of Ross Island and McMurdo Station. His recent research included his gazette of Low Latitude Antarctic sites, sites outside the Antarctic with particular links to the continent.

BOB HEADLANDRecently retired as the archivist and curator of the Scott Polar Research Institute of the University of Cambridge, he is currently a Senior Research Associate at the Institute. His specialities are the history and geography of both polar regions. He has spent two winters in South Georgia and voyaged to the region several times during the last 20 years. His involvement with the Antarctic Heritage Trust has concerned the preservation of the historical huts and other sites associated with exploration and discovery in the Antarctic. He is currently preparing for publication a revised edition of his pioneering book “Chronological List of Antarctic Expeditions and Related Historical Events”.

JOHN F. MANNJohn became interested in Shackleton’s 1914-16 Imperial Trans-Antarctic expedition having read Alfred Lansing’s book “Endurance”. Over the past seven years he has researched the lives of all 28 men of the Endurance Expedition. He has met and corresponded with most of the remaining sons and daughters of the Expedition members. His ongoing work “The Endurance Obituaries” gives a detailed insight into the lives of each man, before, during and after the expedition ended. John has been consulted by a number of authors and magazines and part of his work can be found in a number of websites including that of HMS Endurance, the Royal Navy ice patrol ship. He hopes to eventually publish his work in full.

CLIFF WEDGBURYLondon born and now a long term resident of Cork, poet, playwright, performance artist and broadcaster he was fi rst inspired by the Antarctic Expeditions when as a ten year old schoolboy he visited the research ship R.S.S Discovery docked in London in 1956. He has written and released CD’s of Antarctic ballads inspired by Scott, Shackleton, Crean among others.

JENNY COVERACKTrained as an actress at the world famous Bristol Old Vic, she is a frequent presence on both stage and radio. Frustrated at the lack of prominence of Women in history she was inspired by the story of Kathleen Scott, sculptor, artist, mother, and widow of Captain Robert Scott. Writing with Robert Edwards she has produced a one woman play based on Kathleen’s life. The play has been performed to much acclaim all over the world, including the Antarctic.

JOHN MACKENNAPlaywright whose book on Shackleton published in 2003 gave a new insight into the family background of one of Kildare’s most famous sons.

THE ANTARCTIC ADVENTURERSAntarctic adventures, Mick, John and Kevin are a group of British re-enactors who specialise in re-creating the world of Shackleton, Scott and Amundsen. They perform regularly for museums and English Heritage. They will recreate a three man sledging party of the 1901-1913 period with clothing, sledges and equipment of the type employed by Scott and Shackleton.

data print, Athy, Co. Kildare.

Children’s drama and amateur workshops

Available from the Heritage Centre - Museum specially produced

Bookmarks, Postcards and Limited Edition Posters based on the

Centre’s collection. Also a selection of books, DVD’s, T-Shirts on sale.

Th e Heritage Centre - Museum and its Shackleton festival team would like to thank our funding bodies and sponsors whose support makes this event possible. Th ese include Tegral Building Products Ltd., Fáilte Ireland, Athy Town Council, Kildare County Council, Athy Chamber of Commerce, Allied

Irish Banks, Bank of Ireland, Athy.A special thanks to Athy Library for their support and help

Th e Ernest Shackleton Autumn Schoolis a project of Athy Heritage Centre - Museum.

For information and booking contact:Athy Heritage Centre - Museum,

Town Hall, Emily Square,Athy, Co. Kildare.

Tel: 059 - 8633075. Fax: 059 - 8633076. Email: athyheritage@eircom.net Website: www.athyheritagecentre-museum.ie

ALL EVENTS INCLUSIVE FEEFull Autumn School which includes Inaugural Dinner: €65

Admission to Lectures: €5. Student/Unwaged/OAP: €2

Mary Leadbeaters House in Ballitore part of the Field trips on Monday.

Scale model of the Endurance in Athy Heritage Centre -Museum

Antarctic Adventurers appearing during the

Shackleton Autumn School