- Born
- Died
- Birth nameThomas Crean
- Nicknames
- Tomás Ó Croidheáin
- Tomás Ó Cuirín
- Tom The Pole
- Height5′ 10″ (1.78 m)
- Tom Crean, from Anascaul, Kerry, was the unsung hero of Antarctic exploration. Born on a farm, Crean ran away from home to join the navy at 15 and served on three of the great expeditions in the early 20th century. He served with both Robert Falcon Scott and Sir Ernest Shackleton, spent longer on the ice than either and outlived them both.
Crean volunteered for the 'Discovery' expedition in 1901 and was among the last to see Scott alive in 1912, just 150 miles from the South Pole. He returned to ice to bury his frozen body. Crean joined 'Endurance' in 1914 and was one of Shackleton's key men in the fight for survival after the ship sank. He made the open boat journey to South Georgia and marched across the island to bring rescue to his comrades marooned on Elephant Island.
His brother, a sergeant in the Royal Irish Constabulary, was shot dead as Crean returned to Kerry. As a result he never spoke about his exploits in the ice. These men had sailed to the ice during Ireland's period under British rule and after Independence, it was impossible to celebrate any association with the British. With striking symmetry, the age of Antarctic exploration ended with Shackleton's death on January 5, 1922 - two days before Dáil Éireann ratified the Anglo-Irish Treaty of independence. Crean had served many years in the British navy, so was compelled to remain silent about his exploits.
Crean opened a pub, The South Pole Inn in Anascaul and died of a burst appendix in 1938. The pub is open to this day.
- IMDb mini biography by: tc
- SpouseEileen Herlihy(September 5, 1917 - July 27, 1938) (his death, 3 children)
- ChildrenKate CreanEileen Crean
- ParentsCatherine (née Courtney) CreanPatrick Crean
- RelativesCornelius Crean(Sibling)Daniel Crean(Sibling)Hugh Crean(Sibling)Martin Crean(Sibling)Catherine Crean(Sibling)Ellen Crean (née Dowd)(Aunt or Uncle)Hugh Crean(Grandparent)John Courtney(Grandparent)Martin Crean(Aunt or Uncle)Johanna Crean (née Fynn)(Grandparent)Brendan O'Brien(Grandchild)
- Pictured on a series of three commemorative postage stamps issued 5 November 2014 by South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands.
- He was awarded the Albert Medal for Lifesaving for playing a key role in saving the life of comrade Edward Ratcliffe 'Teddy' Evans on the ill-fated 'Terra Nova' expedition in which Captain Robert Falcon Scott and 4 others (Edgar Evans, Lawrence E.G. Oates, Edward Adrian Wilson, and Henry R. Bowers) died.
- Irish seaman and Antarctic explorer who was a member of three major expeditions to Antarctica during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration: Robert Falcon Scott's 1901-1904 'Discovery' Expedition, the 1911-1913 'Terra Nova' Expedition again with Scott, and Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition with the ship "Endurance" (1914-17).
- After retiring from the navy on health grounds in 1920, Crean ran his pub the South Pole Inn in Annascaul, County Kerry with his wife and daughters.
- Spent more time in the Antartic than his fellow explorers Robert Falcon Scott and Sir Ernest Shackleton, whom he traveled with on their expeditions. He spent longer on ice than them, although he never reached the South Pole. He also outlived them both.
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