A new museum dedicated to the life of the explorer Ernest Shackleton opens in Athy in Co Kildare today.
The Shackleton Experience uses artefacts and interactive elements to try and recreate the experience of some of his famous Antarctic explorations.
It is hoped the exhibition which was built with a state investment of almost €8 million will help attract more visitors and polar enthusiasts to the Kildare town.
Born just outside Athy in 1874, it was in 1909 that Shackleton almost became the first person to reach the South Pole.
However, with just 150km to his destination he made the decision to turn his team back due to exhaustion, dysentery and hunger.
A rare audio account of that journey by Shackleton is among the interactive and immersive experiences in the attraction which also allows visitors to feel the cold of the Antarctic, hear the winds and pull replicas of the sleighs Shackleton and his team dragged on their intrepid adventures at the turn of the 20th century.
Shackleton Experience General Manager Aline FitzGerald said the museum was built on a year of work by the local community, which once had a smaller exhibition dedicated to the explorer in the town hall
"We now have the largest collection of artefacts available dedicated to Ernest Shackleton, 200 ranging from photographs to certificates. The cabin in which he died is also here, which has been restored," she said.
"We're really replicating the experience so people can come here and see what it was like to go on those expeditions."
Among the first to get a look at the Shackleton Experience was Jonathan Shackleton, who is a cousin of Ernest and has himself visited the Antarctic 45 times.
"I was most recently there in February and March of this year and I visited a place I thought I'd never, ever be able to go which was his Nimrod hut, from the 1907 to 1909 expedition, they call it after the ships.
"Four of them left and got within 97 nautical miles of the South Pole and my cousin Ernest said, 'I have to consider the lives of the men with me' and he turned back, which was one of the bravest decisions he made," he said.
"If he'd done it, he would have been first at the pole. He might not have made it back though, so he was always considering the people with him. He was an inspiring leader in that way, he cared for other people."
The former secondary school science teacher, who now lives in Cavan, said he is overwhelmed by what the attraction has achieved.
"The real focus has been on his incredible explorations in the Antarctic. So the family background hasn't come into it too much. He was one of ten children," Mr Shackleton said.
"His father was a small farmer who rented land at Kilkea. The house where Ernest was born is still there. It took six generations to produce Ernest. He was always freewheeling."
His cousin recalled how Ernest Shackleton loved going on walks and doing his own thing in the Kildare countryside.
"Eventually they moved to Dublin. The dad then trained to be a doctor in Dublin, and then moved to the UK, where he would get a job. So the background was never forgotten by Ernest.
"He did say on a number of occasions, I am Irish, you know. I was born in Ireland," he said.
It is hoped that the Shackleton Experience will bring an additional 20,000 visitors a year to Athy.
Director of Services for Planning, Economic Development, Enterprise and Tourism in Kildare County Council Alan Dunney said the museum forms part of a wider regeneration efforts for the Athy area.
Mr Dunney said the overall cost of the Shackleton Experience was in the region of €7.7 million.
"We're looking at bringing visitors into the town from 20,000 people per year upwards. We're hoping to bring polar enthusiasts, foreign visitors, our local community, local schools, local universities, particularly given Ernest Shackleton's involvement from a leadership perspective," he said.
Those behind the attraction hope it helps the story of Shackleton's bravery and leadership in the face of adversity to endure.
While Jonathan Shackleton hopes more people will learn the story of Irelands intrepid explorers.
"It's absolutely stunning, really high quality, hugely informative, not only about Shackleton, but about the Antarctic and all the other people from Ireland," Mr Dunney said.
"On the James Caird lifeboat journey, which there's a wonderful replica, three are from Ireland, Ernest from Kildare, Tom Crean from Kerry and also Tim McCarthy from Cork. I'm overwhelmed by what is achieved. It's almost a miracle."
