Part of the joy in
researching and writing local history is making connections between people and
places. The re-imagining and
re-assessment of historical figures is an important part of this process. The Royal Irish Academy has been prominent in
publishing new studies of major historical figures such as Eamon de Valera and its
most recent publication, authored by Fintan O’Toole, ‘Judging Shaw’. This an
interesting book which the author regards as a re-introduction to George
Bernard Shaw. He states that Shaw, as a
contemporary figure, has much more in common with musicians such as Bob Dylan
and David Bowie than with the great Victorians, William Gladstone or Anthony
Trollope. He observes that Bob Dylan in
2016 became the first artist since Bernard Shaw to achieve the unique
distinction of receiving both an Oscar and a Nobel prize. Neither Athy nor Kildare can make any claims
to associations with Shaw. Carlow town
has that honour with the generous bequests made by the Shaw family over the
last century, the shining light of which is that great cultural treasure, the
Visual Centre for Contemporary Arts Centre and the George Bernard Shaw Theatre
built in the grounds of St. Patrick’s College in Carlow.
I was however intrigued
to come across a reference to a meeting between George Bernard Shaw and the
Kilkea-born explorer, Ernest Shackleton.
After Shackleton’s death in 1922 his brother-in-law, Charles Sarolea
published in the Journal, ‘The
Contemporary Review’ an article titled ‘Sir
Ernest Shackleton a Study in personality’.
Sarolea was a Professor of French in Edinburgh University and was also
married to Julia Dorman, Shackleton’s sister-in-law. Sarolea describes a lunch date shared with
Bernard Shaw and Shackleton where he observed two men who had much in
common. Both had a quick and ready wit
and though in their temperament and outlook in life they were different both
were Irishmen who had established their reputations after leaving these shores. The lunch was marked by a continuous flow of
stories and quips between the men which Sarolea described as a ‘continuous firework of story and
anecdotes.’
Another great figure of
that time was Sir Harry Lauder, the famous music hall singer and comedian. His was a name and a voice that would
resonate with my late father’s generation and he enjoyed an extraordinary long
career from the end of the Victorian age right into the 1930's.
It is not clear when
Harry Lauder first ran into Ernest Shackleton, but certainly by 1909 when
Shackleton had returned from the Antarctic they appeared to be moving in the
same social circles. At a dinner hosted
by a wealthy friend of Shackleton's, Lauder performed a series of songs. It was a lavish affair whereby the table was
transformed into a picture of the Antarctic, with artificial snow and real ice,
where a large model of Shackleton’s ship ‘Nimrod’
was placed at the edge of an ice barrier thickly populated by penguins with
menu cards specially created by the artist, George Marston.
Lauder would go on to
celebrate this friendship by releasing a song called ‘The Bounding Bounder’ or 'On
the Bounding Sea' in late 1910 which was a comic tale of a joint expedition
to the Antarctic involving Harry Lauder and Ernest Shackleton as regaled by
Lauder. The recording was released on an
Edison wax cylinder and such was the success that it was later released on a 78
record and was still available for sale as late as 1921. It appears that Lauder and Shackleton’s paths
frequently crossed and an article in the Cork Examiner of 17th
December 1912 reported that both men were embarking upon the Lusitania sailing
from Cobh to the United States.
Shackleton was heading to America on private business with the intention
of delivering lectures about his Nimrod expedition, while Lauder had just
completed a series of engagements in London and was to begin a tour of the
United States for nine weeks, of mostly major cities such as New York and
Chicago.
When the Great War broke
out in 1914 it would find Shackleton in the Antarctic again on the ship ‘Endurance’, while Lauder was touring
Australia. The war brought great sadness
on Lauder’s family, with the loss of his only child, his son John, killed in
action while serving with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders on the Somme in
1916. Lauder spent much of the war years
in organising concerts and fundraising appeals, particularly for the charity he
established, the Harry Lauder Million Pound Fund for injured Scottish soldiers
and sailors for which he received a knighthood in 1919. The death of his son also inspired the
writing of the song called ‘The End of
the Road’.
Shackleton would find an
early death on his expedition to the Antarctic in January ’22, while Lauder
would live until February 1950 only fully retiring after World War II during
which he made a number of broadcasts with the BBC.
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