Crean The Extraordinary Life of an Irish Hero

Tom Crean is one of the most iconic figures in Irish history. Born in 1877 in County Kerry, he enlisted in the Royal Navy at the age of sixteen, a career that would bring him to the most extreme environments on Earth. We all think we know the Crean story, but this book charts his full naval career in rich new detail, from his start in the Americas, where he was faced with rebellions and life-threatening storms, to Australia, where he faced the Black Death and threats from cannibals. But it was Robert Scott’ s decision to employ him that led him to Antarctica, where his feats of heroism on two expeditions saw him help save the lives of crewmates on three dramatic occasions, most famously on Ernest Shackleton’ s ill-fated Endurance, when the vessel sank leaving the crew stranded on the ice for almost 500 days. Tom Crean’ s is an extraordinary tale, one of an unassuming but quietly strong man who showed remarkable bravery in the harshest conditions on the planet. This was a man who lived a life unlike others. Crean is the story of a true Irish hero.

Tim Foley is a long-time student of the life of Tom Crean. Born in Salford, UK, his father was a County Kerry native, born close to Crean, near Castlemaine. After a thirty-year career as a contractor, Foley was commissioned as a writer and marketing consultant, and in 2002, he joined Granada TV as a project consultant. In 2010, he created a campaign to secure official recognition for Tom Crean from the Irish Government; that ambition was finally realised in 2021, with the launch of the scientific vessel the RV Tom Crean.

1. The Road that Led South 2. A Fearless Act of Bravery 3. The Lifesaving Solo Trek 4. A Mission for Survival 5. Triumph in the Face of Disaster 6. Life after Antarctica 7. The Final Journey 8. The Legacy and the Campaign