At Gortacurraun, a townland close to Annascaul, Catherine Crean, nee Courtney, gave birth to a child on, or shortly before, 16th February 1877. Church records reveal that the priest, who will have written up numerous church entries at the end of each month, would enter the wrong Christian name for…Read More

Tom Crean was almost 16 and a half years-old when he joined the Navy. Previous accounts of his life have given rise to the belief he was 15-years-old yet his baptismal and birth records prove this to be false. The assumption that he was 15 yrs old, was born out of…Read More

On this day, 18 yr-old Tom Crean, who had travelled over 13,000 miles on his first seagoing assignment, was serving on HMS Royal Arthur. He had transferred to the flagship of the Pacific Fleet on 14th March 1895 from HMS Wild Swan and Crean was very likely to have been…Read More

On February 15th 1900, serving as a Petty Officer 2nd Class, After a two-year period of training on his return from the South American Station, Crean’s term of service would be ledgered to HMS Ringarooma from February 15th 1900 although it appears he didn’t commence service on Ringarooma until over two months later. The…Read More

On 11th November 1902, while serving on the Discovery Expedition, Tom Crean, part of a depot-laying group under the command of Lieutenant Michael Barne achieved the prized record  of reaching ‘farthest south.” The sledging team passed the 78°50’S latitude previously reached by the Norwegian explorer, Carsten Borchgrevink, on 16th February…Read More

Tom Crean’s first documented case of life-saving heroics came when he navigated his way between ice floes jumping from one to another whilst surrounded by hungry Killer Whales before scaling mountain glaciers to rescue Apsley Cherry-Gerrard and Bowers, whilst on the Terra Nova expedition with Scott. When he and his…Read More

In 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton had a rival for Tom Crean’s services as the leader of another proposed expedition to Antarctica had plans to commence at the same time as Shackleton’s Endurance expedition. Staking his claim for Crean, Joseph Foster Stackhouse, who’d announced his plans in October 1913, said: “One…Read More

Endurance left her berth at the West India Dock on 1st August 1914 and headed for Plymouth before sailing on to South America. Shackleton was at the helm and the Manchester Guardian reported that: “alongside the skipper and at the wheel was a hero – Petty Officer Crean, the man…Read More

The most iconic photos of Tom Crean are the two featured below The images, both taken by Frank Hurley early in 1915, tell stories of their own. Taken in his birth month of February, the image of Crean in his twin peaked hat depicts a man of determination, a tough,…Read More

On 9th April 1916, Crean took control of the Stancombe Wills on a perilous journey to Elephant Island. It was the smallest of the three lifeboats that were launched and was, subsequently, the most difficult to navigate. The task of skippering the smallest lifeboat had originally fell to Hubert Hudson…Read More

One of the most astonishing feats in history got underway this day when Ernest Shackleton, Tom Crean, Frank Worsley, Tim McCarthy, Harry McNish and John Vincent, set off in the adapted lifeboat, the James Caird, in an attempt to rescue their colleagues who can be seen below waving them off…Read More

After a gruelling, energy-sapping, thirty-six hour trek over the perilous mountains of South Georgia, the heavily-bearded, raggedy, weather-beaten trio staggered into Stromness, where they encountered two young children, later revealed to be the daughters of the whaling station manager. The children immediately turned and fled as if they’d just happened…Read More

After an offer had been received and accepted from the Uruguayan government to provide a trawler, Instituto De Pesca No.1, the second rescue attempt got underway on 17th June, a week after her arrival in the Falklands on 10th June. Again, within twenty miles of reaching the island, the trawler had…Read More

On this day, the culmination of the greatest tale of rescue and survival one could ever imagine, was being played out on the Southern Ocean as the Chilean ship, Yelcho, approached Elephant Island, watched by the 22 men who’d undergone 126 days of unimaginable hardships and deprivation. Onboard the rescue…Read More

On 5th September Tom Crean’s marriage to Ellen Herlihy, daughter of Patrick Herlihy, a former Annascaul publican, took place in Annascaul. Their wedding at the Church of the Sacred Heart in Annascaul, was well attended by family and friends and among the wedding gifts was a silver tea set sent…Read More

On 27th September 1919, Tom Crean was returning home from Russia on HMS Fox. It’s perhaps strange to think of Tom Crean in the Arctic after earning his reputation as an Antarctic veteran but the well-travelled Kerryman did indeed serve in the cold climes of the Northern Hemisphere. He is…Read More

The years since Tom Crean’s retirement had not been kind to him yet 1924 was one that would bring about devastating losses from which true recovery would never be possible even for a man famed for overcoming difficulties and barriers.. The hardships Tom Crean overcame over the course of three…Read More

On days when the mood took him, Crean would sit chatting with patrons for hours. His presence and the thrill of being in his good company must have been a draw for those stepping through the doors of the South Pole Inn. One insight into the humour and wit of…Read More

Titled ‘Polar Crean’, the first written account that was dedicated to Tom Crean’s story was released on this date in 1952. The author, Tadhg Gahan wrote this comprehensive account of Crean’s time on expeditions to Antarctica, under the pseudonym, ‘Denis Barry’ yet it would remain under the radar as the…Read More

Under the auspices of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Ireland finally provided recognition for Tom Crean in the shape of a scientific research vessel, named RV Tom Crean. January 31st 2021 will go down in history as the day Ireland finally honoured Tom Crean and our 11-year…Read More

6th October, 2022 marks the date that our sailor finally came home. On this day the vessel that symbolises long awaited national recognition for Tom Crean, RV Tom Crean moored in Dingle, County Kerry, the beautiful port town close to where he was born. It’s a place Crean frequented often…Read More