Programme
| Updated 04/08/2026 | Friday 16/10/2026 – Sunday 18/10/2026 | Speakers and events |
| All weekend | ||
| The Shackleton Experience | Shackleton Autumn School ticket holders | Free access to the Shackleton Experience through the weekend. |
| ShackleTown Market | Various | Arts and crafts, paintings, food, books – all with a Polar theme. Exhibitors to be confirmed. |
| Exhibition | “Cherry Pickings” curated by Hugh Turner. Books, photographs and original letters from the Cherry-Garrard collection. | |
| Friday 16/10/2026 | ||
| Morning | Masterclasses – in conjunction with Athy schools and teachers | (Confined to school students) “Masterclass with master sculptor”, Mark Richards. Primary School – ‘Pick up a penguin’ – learn the skills needed to be a young explorer Other masterclasses to be confirmed |
| 15:30 – 17:00 | Terror Camp LIVE! @ The Shackleton Autumn School | Join Allegra Rosenberg, founder and director of Terror Camp, for a Friday afternoon panel of polar potpourri. Streamed live from the Shackleton Museum to Terror Camp’s global audience, this programming will show off the best of Terror Camp’s youthful, interdisciplinary, and participatory approach. |
| 19:30 | Opening Event | Formal opening of 26th Shackleton Autumn School. |
| 20:00 | Book launch | Launch of ‘Cherry Pickings’, An Antarctic Miscellany from the Library and Files of Apsley Cherry-Garrard, compiled by his nephew, Hugh Turner. Published by Athy Heritage Company. |
| Saturday 17/10/2026 | ||
| 10.00 | Katherine MacInnes | “‘A lady on the ice would be as useful as a teapot on a battleship!’ New York Times 1915”. Katherine previously spoke at the 2022 Shackleton Autumn School on the women connected to Scott’s fatal polar party. This year, she expands on the topic of the participation of women in Antarctic expeditions. |
| 11.20 | Craig Mathieson | ‘Inspiration through Exploration’, the story of the Polar Academy. |
| 12.10 | Stephen Marston | George Marston, Shackleton’s Unconventional Artist George Marston was an important member of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Antarctic expeditions. Initially recruited as an artist, he was soon valued in many other capacities. Although he died at a relatively young age, his was a life crammed with adventure and discovery, both on groundbreaking expeditions and at home in Britain. The Antarctic phase of his career will be illuminated with material from the Marston family archive, including sketches and letters that have never been published. |
| 14:30 | Fabienne Tetteroo | Finding Fitzjames: the life and career of Captain James Fitzjames RN. Fabienne shares her research on one of the key figures of Franklin’s ill-fated final expedition. |
| 15:40 | Neil Pepper | “Down North on the Labrador” This year’s Arctic topic sees Neil share his extensive knowledge of ecology and exploration in Northern latitudes. |
| 16:30 | IceBreakers, curated by Ice Captain, Mark McClean | A regular favourite on the Shackleton Autumn School programme, IceBreakers comprises an eclectic mix of short presentations on relevant topics. The only rules are ‘5 slides in 5 minutes’. The winner with the best combination of interesting topic and entertaining delivery receives the ‘Bob Burton’ IceBreaker award. If you wish to participate in IceBreakers, please email your topic to Sinead (hello@ShackletonExperience.ie)with subject ‘2026 IceBreakers’. Places are limited and selected on a first come basis. |
| Sunday 18/10/2026 | ||
| 10.00 | Ali Gellatly | Discovery – the first ship built specifically for Antarctic scientific research and exploration. Who better to tell us the story of Discovery, 125 years after her launch and departure for Antarctica than Dundee Heritage Trust’s Ship Director, Ali Gellaty. |
| 11.20 | Anthony Hobbs | Early Polar Photography in Pictures and Practice. |
| 12.10 | Dylan Colbert | Shackleton: Polar Psychologist This presentation reframes Shackleton not simply as a heroic polar adventurer, but as a pioneering, intuitive master of psychology whose real achievements lay in reading people, managing morale, and fostering cohesion against near-insurmountable odds. Shackleton’s choices — from the bold abandonment of the Endurance to the careful allocation of tasks, food, companionship, and even humour — demonstrate a leader who understood minds as acutely as he understood the ice. |
| Sunday Afternoon Smorgasbord | Choice of activity | Your choice of events in and around Athy (times to be announced on the day). Some events are weather permitting and/or limited in number in which case a first come basis will apply. Polar film: TBC Walking tour of Mediaeval Athy ’We swam in the Griese and came out dripping! “Curator’s Cut” visit to the new Shackleton Experience with discussions/insights around the exhibits. Bus tour of Shackleton Country. |
Speaker Biographies
Dr. Dylan Colbert
Dr. Dylan Colbert began his career in experimental psychology, publishing peer-reviewed research papers on topics including intelligence, behaviour analysis, academic performance, stress and social support. Dylan’s work demonstrating that intellectual performance can be improved via intervention has challenged the century-old notion that intelligence cannot be trained.
Through the application of these findings to the area of peak performance, he has been able to foster sustainable growth in athletes and performers across various domains, from novice musicians and struggling students to professional footballers and world champion athletes.
Ali Gellatly
Ali Gellatly is the Ship and Facilities Director at Dundee Heritage Trust – the charity tasked with the care and conservation of Captain Scott’s Royal Research Ship Discovery. Ali has overall responsibility for the Discovery and accompanying museum, Discovery Point. As a specialist on the subject of RRS Discovery, he has appeared on documentaries for Channel 5, Amazon Prime, History Hit and Discovery+, alongside numerous interviews for BBC news, BBC Radio, STV, Radio Tay, VisitScotland and a variety of print media. Ali is currently overseeing the Urgent Works Phase One and Two on the Discovery, a £3.3m project providing essential conservation and maintenance.
Anthony Hobbs
Following a career in teaching, Anthony Hobbs retired in 2014 as Head of Department of Fine Art Media at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin.
An early convert to Digital Media, Anthony has continued to use hybrid processes to articulate his vision of the world. His background in photography and interest in technology informs a lot of work with large format digital imagery.
An avid fan of polar exploration since his teens, he has been on two photographic expeditions to Antarctica. Since retiring from teaching, he has returned to analogue photography and large format glass plate photography.
He continues to Mentor, Collaborate and Consult on Photography, Digital Imaging, BookDesign and Digital Printing.
Katherine MacInnes
Katherine MacInnes is an author, biographer, journalist and editor whose work focuses on polar history, exploration, and the overlooked lives connected with some of the most famous expeditions in history.
MacInnes is best known for her books on exploration history and biography. Her acclaimed Snow Widows retells the story of Captain Scott’s final Antarctic expedition through the experiences of the women left behind, while Woman with the Iceberg Eyes explores the life of Oriana Wilson, wife of Antarctic explorer Edward Wilson. Writing under the pseudonym Kate Nicholson, she is also the author of Behind Everest, a biography of Ruth Mallory that was shortlisted for the Boardman Tasker Award. Her ‘Shortest History of Antarctica’, to be published autumn 2026, features a chapter on ‘Women in Antarctica’.
Stephen Marston
Stephen Marston joins an illustrious line of Shackleton crew ‘descendants’ in presenting at the Shackleton Autumn School. He is a grandson of George Marston, the artist (and much more) who was part of Shackleton’s ‘Nimrod’ and ‘Endurance’ expeditions.
Having attended agricultural college, followed by some time traveling, Stephen now runs Marston Forestry, and is involved in forestry management in the south of England.
Craig Mathieson
Scottish explorer Craig Mathieson has always had an affinity to the outdoors.
In 2006, he trained and accompanied a high school pupil to complete an expedition to the North Pole. He knew where his future lay when he saw the positive impact the North Pole expedition had on, not just the young lad, but his family too. Craig quit his job and in 2013 The Polar Academy was established with the intention of helping teenagers who were struggling, and for those who believe they are not capable of achieving in life and feel ‘invisible’ in the school system. Craig now makes it his mission to show each and every one of them that they are truly incredible by training them to complete a winter Arctic expedition in East Greenland.
Neil Pepper
Neil Pepper MBE FRGS FZSL has been employed in the UK rail industry for the last 42 years. In 2008 he was awarded an MBE for services to London Underground and to the community.
Since 2009 Neil has volunteered as a STEM Ambassador delivering inspirational talks to thousands of children. He has developed a programme based on his extensive knowledge and experience of Arctic Ecology and Exploration, drawing on first-hand knowledge from multiple expeditions in Labrador. He has provided inspirational educational engagement sessions for indigenous children in various remote First Nations communities in the Canadian province of Labrador.
In 2020 Neil won the European Women in Construction and Engineering “Best Male Mentor” award.
Mark Richards
Mark Richards is a sculptor specialising in fine figurative work. His technique draws on a tradition wherein sculptors receive comprehensive instruction in design, technique and execution and work mainly on commission. He was taught by A J Ayres who, in turn, had worked with Eric Gill. His preference is to work with people and within supportive, creative environments with the often collaborative nature of working with both committees and individuals.
Mark’s works have a worldwide footprint; in Ireland – Nicky Rackard (Wexford), Big Tom (Monaghan), Roger Casement (Dun Laoghaire), ‘Squires’ Gannon (Kildare) and of course his landmark statue of Ernest Shackleton unveiled in Athy, 30th August 2016, the centenary of the rescue of the Endurance crew from Elephant Island.
Allegra Rosenberg (she/her)
Allegra Rosenberg is a writer and editor based in New York City, currently the Community Editor at Atlas Obscura. Her debut nonfiction book, a cultural history of fan culture, is forthcoming from WW Norton. Since 2021 she has been the director of the annual Terror Camp virtual polar fan conference. She recently published “From Antarctica, With Love” a polar love story in The Atavist magazine.
Fabiënne Tetteroo
Fabiënne Tetteroo is a historian from The Hague, The Netherlands. She is primarily interested in microhistory: studying individuals in order to gain a better understanding of the historical events they were involved in. Her current research is about the life and career of Captain James Fitzjames RN, which will culminate in a book that is part biography and part general history book, exploring the social and naval history of Fitzjames’ time. Tetteroo’s extensive research article about the commission and exhibition history of the famous painting ‘The Arctic Council planning a search for Sir John Franklin’ by Stephen Pearce (1851) is currently under peer review. She is also researching Fitzjames’ contemporaries, John Barrow Jr. and Rear-Admiral Sherard Osborn RN, with the aim of writing their biographies.
Hugh Turner
Hugh Turner is the nephew of Captain Scott’s “adaptable helper”, Apsley Cherry-Garrard, who returned from Antarctica to write the polar classic The Worst Journey in the World. Cherry died when Hugh was twelve years old. He remembers meeting him, though he was not an easy person for a child to get to know.
However, Hugh feels that he owes his own thirst for adventure to the knowledge that Cherry was in his background.
Hugh has lectured widely, with Cherry’s achievement and struggles as his core subject, and he has recently written Cherry Pickings, a catalogue of, and commentary on the annotated books, documents and paintings he inherited from Cherry’s widow Angela.
His book is published by the Shackleton Experience, and its release coincides with this year’s Autumn School.
