Seek the Frozen Lands

Early polar adventurers endured hardship and death as they battled fearsome odds and horrendous conditions. Cold, hunger and thirst, frostbite and scurvy were constant companions. It should not be surprising that an island like Ireland produced many explorers. Yet the remarkable part played by the Irish in Polar exploration is hidden and understated. This book redresses this by describing the considerable involvement of Irish explorers in the opening up and mapping of both the Arctic and Antarctic. Many were of Anglo-Irish stock with the same qualities of natural leadership, wit and spontaneity as contemporaries such as Wilde, Shaw and Synge. Ambition and ability to perform in extreme conditions marked them out. They were knighted, promoted in the ranks and acclaimed for their gallantry while others achieved scientific recognition. This exciting story, written from an Irish perspective, unveils an array of Irish heroes, largely unknown and forgotten in modern Ireland.