Tom Crean (1877-1938) was born on a farm near the village Annascaul in Co. Kerry.

At the age of 15 he joined the British Navy and ended up being on three of the four major British Antarctic expeditions:

1. The “Discovery” (1901 – 1904)
2. The “Terra Nova” (1910 – 1913)
3. The “Endurance” (1914 – 1916)

Despite a personal request from Ernest Shackleton, he rejected the chance to sail on the “Quest” in 1921.

Tom Crean spent more time in the Antarctic region that either Robert Scott or Ernest Shackleton and he lived longer than both of them.

After his Antarctic explorations he took part in the First World War. He retired from the Navy in 1920 after 27 years of service.

Crean married Eileen Herlihy in 1917 and they had three daughters. Two of his daughters, Mary and Eileen, are still alive today. Their sister Katherine died at the age of four.

Tom Crean opened up his own pub, “The South Pole Inn”, in Anascaul, in 1927.

Tom Crean died in 1938 at the age of 61 in the Bon Secours Hospital in Cork of a burst appendix.

A Video Tribute to Tom Crean

Mount Crean in Victoria Land and the Crean Glacier on South Georgia commemorate this humble and selfless man.

Tom was decorated with sword at Buckingham Palace. He received several medals including three Polar Medals and the Albert Medal.

Tom Crean never spoke publically about his Antarctic endeavours.

An unsung Irish hero.

Rest well Tom.

(Tom Crean – Antarctic Explorer written and performed by Aidan Dooley ~ check the website for dates and venues of performances)

Be careful how you use those slug pellets!

Especially you Grandad!

The day was a little overcast but no sign of rain.

My walking companion was delayed so the starting time was pushed out as well.

Still, we got about 5 hours of trotting in.

I took some more photos. I’m going to seriously try to figure out how I can integrate them into the site better.

I want to be able to upload many photos at one time.

Uploading in ones and twos is a slow and painful process.

Here’s one I took from the top of the Healy Pass:

I wonder?

We were walking in the Black Valley today. We did part of the Kerry Way walk. I took the photo in the Black Valley. The snowcapped Macgillycuddy’s Reeks are in the background.

I’ll post some more photos tomorrow.

Self explanatory I think!

Rabach’s Way is a walk that took us to a hidden valley (known as The Pocket) and a ruined village. It was the location of a true story of murder and betrayal.

Cornelius Sullivan Rabach was the last man to be hanged in Kerry in 1831.

The story goes that he murdered a traveller, or a stowaway who jumped ship in Castletown, who came to his house in the remote mountain village. He was seen by a neighbour and when Rabach found out that she had seen the murder he murdered her too.

He was caught, tried and hanged for both murders. The cave he hid in whilst on the run can be seen above the village.

The walk takes between four and five hours. We started at the Sibín Pub which is at the base of the Healy Pass.

We passed Shronebirrane stone circle on the way to the hidden village.

The remoteness of the village is amazing.

They couldn’t even carry a horse and cart in there. We counted 7 houses. The remains of stone walled fields can be seen there and evidence of turf cutting is also visible.

The location was quite spectacular. The mountain sides are quite bleak, there is a waterfall to the rear of the village and the water in the stream was crystal clear. Better than any bottled water you could buy.

We saw a farmer half way up the side of the mountain rounding up sheep with his sheepdog. He must have been there for hours rounding them up because he was there before us and there after we left.

The day was magnificent …. well worth a visit!

(As soon as I sort out how I’ll display photographs on the site I’ll upload them … until them I hope you enjoy the ones on this page!)

One of the natives I met while hill walking in Kerry!

I’m up the walls with school at the moment but watch this space ‘cos I’ll be uploading some photos from Sunday’s hill walking trip.

We explored a ‘hidden village’. It has a great story attached to it. More to follow!