Shackleton Autumn School 2021

The arrival of Autumn is always marked by shorter, colder and wetter days and a carpet of leaves which coat our country roads. It also brings with it, in October, the annual Shackleton Autumn School which has been a fixture on Athy’s calendar since 2001. Last year Covid prevented the holding of the Autumn School in its traditional format with lecturers and attendees coming from all over the world but undaunted by this the ever-inventive Shackleton Autumn School committee held an online event which they called ‘Virtually Shackleton 2020’. This comprised a day long series of lectures with contributors from all over the world and which was streamed live over the internet. The hidden benefit of the online hosting was that attendees from such far-flung places as Iceland and Argentina were able to participate in the event for the first time. A most enjoyable element of last year’s virtual event was the series of video messages from attendees all over the world who had either been at the Autumn School or intended to be at the Autumn School in the future. It was a great testament to the positive impact the Autumn School has had on the town both nationally and internationally since its inception in 2001. This year’s virtual event is particularly significant as it kicks off the events marking the centenary of Shackleton’s death on the 5th of January 1921. The event will commence at 10.00am on Saturday, 30th of October with an introduction from a very special contributor, the details of which are a closely guarded secret. Thereafter attendees will be treated to a variety of talks, lectures and films on all things Shackleton. Of particular interest will be the first lecture at 10.20am on the 30th by Jan Chojecki with the title ‘John Quiller Rowett and the Quest’. Rowett is a much forgotten figure in Polar history but he was the former school friend of Shackletons who financed the last expedition on the Quest. As many readers will know the cabin from the Quest was secured by the Shackleton Museum some years ago and in its restored state will be a key feature of the revamped museum which is scheduled to be completed in 2023. Jan Chojecki is John Quiller Rowett’s grandson and we can expect an extraordinary personal view of the man whose financial generosity allowed Shackleton one final journey to the Antarctic where he would meet his untimely death. Other aspects of Shackleton’s colourful life will be addressed by some of the other lecturers. Jo Wolf of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society will speak of the time that Shackleton spent as the society’s secretary. It is hard to imagine the dynamic and charismatic Shackleton in such surroundings. One of the many innovations that Shackleton brought to the society during his short term as secretary was the introduction of telephones which caused much consternation amongst its much older members! A perennial favourite of the Autumn School, Bob Headland a research associate at the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge, will treat attendees to a lecture on the ‘Non-existent islands in the Southern Ocean’. No doubt the presentation will be laced liberally with Bob’s ever-present humour. Amongst the many international contributors there will also be a talk from an Irish based academic Dr. Sinead Moriarty of University College, Dublin. She recently published her work ‘Antarctica in British Children’s Literature’, and her lecture will focus on the representation of Ernest Shackleton in children’s literature. Other lectures will focus on the James Caird the lifeboat in which Shackleton and his companions made that epic journey from Elephant Island to South Georgia. One lecture will be on Seb Coulthard’s own recreation of the most exact replica anywhere in the world, which boat will be a future exhibit in our museum as part of the redevelopment. The Swiss based Jean Pommereau and the Australian Meredith Hooper will talk about the extraordinary photographs of the Australian camera artist, Frank Hurley who recorded Shackleton’s Endurance expedition. The boy scouts who went on Shackleton’s last expedition will feature in Alan Noake’s talk. Other events include a book launch, a showing of the film “Southwards on the Quest” which was first shown in 1922 and will be shown in this country for the first time in almost a century. The event would not be complete without the mandatory drink in O’Brien’s pub on Emily Square and this year they will host a virtual pint for all those attendees who cannot be there in person. The event is online and is completely free on the 30th of October and for further details and to register for the event checkout the website www.shackletonmuseum.com