'Unbelievable' Shackleton museum should be replicated in Laois

The €7.5million upgrade to the Shackleton Experience museum in Athy could be replicated in Laois, suggests a local councillor.

Cllr James Kelly from the Mountmellick Borris-in-Ossory Municipal District, suggests that the vacant Borris-in-Ossory courthouse, just off the M7 motorway in Laois, could be ideal.

"Cllr John King, Cllr Paddy Bracken and I were in Athy to visit the Shackleton museum. It's an unbelievable facility. I think everyone could aspire to this in Laois. There is a big opportunity, ie the Borris-in-Ossory courthouse.

"We have to get the people from the project there to give them an idea of where we can go forward," Cllr Kelly said.

He spoke at the December meeting of Laois County Council.

The council is preparing to spend over €3.35 million to renovate the derelict Borris-in-Ossory Courthouse.

They have chosen a contractor and are awarding a contract on the project by the end of 2025 or in early January 2026.

It is planned to become a digital hub for workers, with possibly a café. Read more and see redesign. The renovation is hoped to create 15 to 20 jobs in Borris-in-Ossory.

Ernest Shackleton was born in Kildare before his family moved to London. He famously led three expeditions to the Antarctic, including the Endurance expedition (1914–1917) where Shackleton managed to bring the entire crew home safely without the loss of a single life after their ship sank in a frozen sea hundreds of miles from civilisation.

As part of the redevelopment by Kildare County Council, a dramatic glass extension in the shape of an iceberg has been added to the venue, which is housed in Athy’s historic Town Hall, a 300-year-old building on Emily Square. The square is also home to the iconic statue of Ernest Shackleton.

The Shackleton Experience has interactive exhibits and more than 200 artefacts including the wooden cabin, from his ship Quest, in which Shackleton died of a heart attack. The museum also examines the polar regions today and highlights the escalating impact of climate change on Antarctica.

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Shackleton himself has another strong Laois link. His cousin, renowned Irish garden designer Arthur Shackleton, is the owner of Fruitlawn Gardens in Abbeyleix and has reinstated gardens in Capard House in the Slieve Bloom mountains, and Ballintubbert House outside Stradbally.