A group of Irish explorers have awarded a posthumous medal to Henry or Harry “Chippy” MNish , the Scottish carpenter who helped save the lives of Sir Ernest Shackleton and his Endurance crew.
The inaugural Irish Polar Medal was presented to McNish’s great grand-nephew John by sailor and Irish Polar Institute chair Máire Breathnach at an event in the National Yacht Club, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin, last Friday.
The bronze medal was designed by Irish international sculptor John Coll and features a polar bear and a penguin.
The polar medal was designed by John Coll the famous Irish sculptor, and features a polar bear and penguin, cast in bronze Photo: Jarlath Cunnane
It was specially commissioned by the institute, which was founded last year to “acknowledge exceptional feats of bravery and achievement by Arctic and Antarctic explorers, particularly those whose contributions have not previously received due recognition”.
The institute’s founders include Jarlath Cunnane and Paddy Barry who circumnavigated the North Pole by yacht among other voyages, and Máire Breathnach, who sailed through the North-West passage with her niece Sibéal among other exploits.
The group sought nominations for the first polar medal, and agreed on McNish as the first recipient.
“We are all delighted,” John McNish, who comes from several generations of Scottish shipyard workers, told The Irish Independent last week before he travelled to Dun Laoghaire.
Harry McNish
His great grand-uncle never recovered his health after surviving Shackleton’s 1914-1916 TransAntarctic expedition, and died in poverty in Wellington, New Zealand, in 1930, where he was given a funeral with full military honours.
Shackleton had failed to recommend McNish for a British polar medal when all the crew returned home after losing their ship, Endurance, in pack ice.
McNish had challenged Shackleton over his plan to drag lifeboats from their ship over ice floes after the Endurance became trapped.
He was also very upset when Shackleton insisted his cat “Mrs Chippy” had to be shot to conserve food.
Yet it was McNish who rebuilt one of the lifeboats, the James Caird, which Shackleton took on the 800-mile sea journey from Elephant island to South Georgia to seek help for all the crew.
McNish was one of the five who accompanied him on the 17-day voyage – along with Kerryman Tom Crean and Corkman Tim McCarthy.
McNish also used his skills to make crampons for three of his colleagues when they traversed South Georgia to reach a Norwegian whaling station.
Jarlath Cunnane has long championed McNish, and built a replica of the James Caird during the Covid-19 lockdown which he named after the doughty Scot.
An article in The Scotsman and a bit of detective work by Máire Breathnach with institute member Mike McKelvie helped to track down McNish’s family.
