The life of Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton and his most famous voyage, on the Endurance, will be brought to life at Galway City’s Black Box Theatre on Saturday, September 2, in South! Always South! a new show from the County Kildare Orchestra and traditional musician Brian Hughes.

Born in Kildare in 1874, Shackleton became a renowned Antarctic explorer who, in 1914, embarked on the Endurance expedition, planning to walk across the Antarctic continent. But what started as a geographic and scientific adventure turned into a dramatic rescue mission when the Endurance became trapped in the ice floes of the Weddell Sea and sank. Over the following 18 months Shackleton, aided by fellow Irish explorers, Tom Crean from Kerry and Tim McCarthy from Cork, demonstrated exceptional leadership skills and courage, leading the crew to safety with no loss of life.

John McKenna, from Castledermot in Kildare, wrote and will perform the text for South! Always South!, which introduces eight movements focusing on aspects of Shackleton’s life, in particular this voyage.

South! Always South! is billed as “an exciting fusion of uilleann pipes, whistle, piano and the full sound of orchestral instruments” and it also features a slide show of beautiful original photographs taken by Frank Hurley on that fateful voyage.

Pictured: Ernest Shackleton after returning to base camp following his Southern Polar journey.