DURING THE GLORY days of exploration, a number of Irish men earned global fame for their exploits in the South Pole.

Sir Ernest Shackleton, Tom Crean and Francis Crozier all risked their lives while trying to navigate Antarctica. In a 1913 recruitment drive, Kildare man Shackleton described his proposed journey as “hazardous”.

“Low wages, bitter cold, long hours of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in event of success,” was how he completed the advertisement which ran in a British newspaper.

In 2012, Google Streetview has made seeing the sights of the South Pole slightly easier. With the launch of panoramic imagery from historic locations today, computer users can explore the huts used by Shackleton and his fellow explorer Robert Falcon Scott.

Portraits of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra still hang inside Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Expedition Hut on Cape Royds, while in Scott’s hut on Cape Evans, canned food sits on the shelves and the London Illustrated News lies carelessly tossed on a desk in one corner. The darkroom of expedition photographer Herbert Ponting is intact with chemicals and plates.

Have a gander: