Greetings to all friends in Tom Crean!
Thank you for dropping into visit us at the Tom Crean Society Website.
We hope you enjoy what we have arranged of interest related to the Society and its activities in the past and more to come in the future. The Tom Crean Society was set up on December 12th 2001, the Centenary of the Discovery Expedition. Our aim is to preserve and promote the memory of this great man.
Tom Crean was a truly courageous Antarctic explorer of the Heroic age. In the past we have arranged weekends with lectures,/slide shows all at The South Pole Inn, Annascaul, walks, banquet dinners in true expedition style as held the ‘Terra Nova’. We even had one midwinter dinner, held on December 12th 2005 onboard ‘Discovery’ in Scotland. We have had two trips to Antarctica in 2004 and 2005 and do plan to visit the continent in the future.
For 2009/2010 plans are in place for some celebrations on New Years Eve! PLEASE VIEW OUR LATEST NEWS
For further information email: info@tomcrean.com
Best wishes,
Maeve
Brief history of Tom Crean's Life
Tom Crean was born in Gurtachrane, Annascaul, Co. Kerry in 1877.
Above: Tom Crean's Birthplace, Gurtachrane.
When he was 15 he joined the Royal Navy. His intrepid sense of adventure involved him in notable expeditions to the Antarctic region. He worked with Sir Ernest Shackleton, a County Kildare man, 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. On this voyage, Tom Crean was petty officer on the ship "Terra Nova" which navigated Ross Sea, Mc Murdo sound, Cape Evans and Hut Point. 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.
Next: Tom Crean Antarctic Hero
Tom Crean's Grave at Ballinacourty
