The Shackleton Mural

The mural, which as I write is being painted on the side wall of Alison Quinn’s solicitors office off Meeting Lane, is the latest addition to the Ernest Shackleton’s story and its connection with Athy. The initial realisation that the great Polar explorer came not from Kilkee, Co. Clare but from Kilkea, Co. Kildare came as a surprise to many. It provided a boost for those of us involved with the Heritage Centre and a never to be lost opportunity to gain national and international recognition for the museum located in the town’s early 18th century Town Hall. The commissioning of the internationally known sculptor Mark Richards to provide a life like statue of Ernest Shackleton which now stands proud in Emily Square was a decision which has brought Athy enormous goodwill and praise. The mural which will be unveiled by the Norwegian Ambassador to Ireland on Culture night on the 23rd of September is yet another piece of Shackletonia to help strengthen Athy’s claim to be an important member of the world’s Polar museums. The mural has been financed by Kildare County Council as part of Culture night and is indicative of the Council’s ongoing support for the development of Shackleton Museum. The mural will be complemented by an appropriate quote from the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen who made an eloquent tribute to Shackleton on the Irish man’s death in 1922. The mural is one of a number of initiatives undertaken by the museum to mark the centenary of Shackleton’s death. Earlier this year saw the broadcast on RTE1 of the documentary on the painstaking restoration of Shackleton’s cabin which will be a central feature of the revamped Shackleton Museum. The Centenary year will be rounded off with the return of the Shackleton Autumn School to the Town Hall on the weekend of the 28th October when we will welcome many international visitors to Athy. The artist responsible for the mural is Eloise Gillow, a renowned muralist who hails from the town of Stone in the West Midlands, England. Stone is a town, not unlike Athy with a population of about 16,000 and with its origins in the 12th Century. Eloise studied in Barcelona and her work is much in demand. Her previous work in Ireland includes ‘Dun Laoghaire Swimmers’ which is part of the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council Walls Project. Prior to coming to Athy she completed an ambitious work in France which involved a mural covering a three storey residential property. After completing her work in Athy she will be undertaking commissions in Finland, Sweden and Greece The Shackleton Museum started life in 1983 with the founding of Athy’s Museum Society. Its first venue was a classroom in the vacant St. Mary’s Convent school and it was there on Sunday afternoons local people donated items which formed the early exhibitions in the museum room. With the designation of Athy as a Heritage town funding was made available by Bord Failte at a time when the ground floor of the Town Hall was vacated by the local fire services and the Urban District Council. The Bord Failte funding was utilised to develop the Heritage Centre using the entire ground floor of the Town Hall. The richness of the town’s history which led to Athy being designated a Heritage Town and to the development of the Heritage Centre did not always enjoy public support. Claims that the heritage status was impeding the industrial and commercial development of the town were often made. Thankfully those who initially saw no merit in highlighting the town’s heritage eventually accepted that our shared history and heritage were important elements of community life and had much to offer in terms of the town’s future development. The earlier mentioned Mark Richards statue of Shackleton which has drawn plaudits from around the world was the subject of undeserved criticism before it was erected. However the exceptional figurative sculpture of Shackleton which was unveiled to acclaim in the town’s square silenced the critics and has proved to be quite a tourist attraction. The one-time museum room, later the town’s Heritage Centre has evolved as the Shackleton Museum. It is an important feature in the town which I hope sometime in the future will be complemented by a museum in the White Castle devoted to the town’s social history and the important Fitzgerald, Earls of Kildare and Dukes of Leinster connections.