A NEW MUSEUM dedicated to the life of Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton has opened in Athy, Co Kildare. 

The museum has opened its doors following an investment of €7.5m from Kildare County Council and the Department of Rural Affairs and Community Development. 

“The museum has been transformed into a world-class visitor attraction that combines the largest collection of Shackleton artefacts in the world with cutting-edge technology and immersive, interactive exhibits,” the Shackleton Experience said.

The life of the Kilkea native can now be experienced through “dramatic digital storytelling, sensory effects and recreated environments that offer visitors the chance to step into his world”, the museum said.

The museum is also home to the cabin in which Shackleton died during his 1922 Antarctic expedition.

Athy Town Hall, where the museum is located. Shackleton Experience Shackleton Experience

Shackleton was a celebrated Anglo-Irish explorer who led a number of British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was born in Kilkea, Co Kildare, in 1874 and moved to London at the age of ten. 

His most famous exploit was an attempt to cross the polar continent, but his ship became stuck in pack ice and sank in the Weddell Sea in 1915. The crew had to eventually escape on lifeboats, making the perilous journey to the island of South Georgia.

He returned to Antarctica in 1922 but died of a heart attack on that expedition. 

Ernest Shackleton's ship Nimrod held up in the Ice during an expedition to the South Pole in 1909 Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

The museum dedicated to his adventures is located in Athy Town Hall, which now has a new glass extension in the shape of an iceberg.

The museum lists some of its key attractions as:

• The actual cabin in which Ernest Shackleton died of a heart attack on the ship ‘Quest’ The sledge and harness used on the Nimrod Expedition
• Replica models of the Endurance and Quest ships as well as the James Caird lifeboat that rescued the crew after the Endurance shipwreck
• An immersive experience that allows visitors to join the crew of the Endurance as they make their escape from the ice-bound ship, with crashing waves and wind effects making the journey feel as real as possible
• A reconstructed 1920s cinema showcasing archival footage and historic clips of Shackleton’s various expeditions and activities, bringing his amazing story vividly to life

While the museum’s aim is to bring the past to life, there are also features that highlight the change brought to the Antarctic by the worsening climate crisis and there is a research studio dedicated to studying it. 

“The redevelopment will bring Shackleton’s story to life with cutting-edge technology, while also highlighting the ongoing impacts of climate change on our polar regions,” said Aline Fitzgerald, the Shackleton Experience’s general manager. 

“Our artefact collection, carefully curated over many years, reflects Shackleton’s extraordinary life and legacy. We are proud to be the only institution in the world dedicated to him and to sharing his story with generations to come.”