Memorial at Ballinacurra Old Harbour, County Cork, Ireland, commemorating Edward Bransfield, RN, d. 1852
Location
Old Harbour, Ballinacurra, County Cork, Ireland
Transcript
‘EDWARD BRANSFIELD / 1785 - 1852 / Ships Master and / ANTARCTIC EXPLORER / from Ballinacurra, Co. Cork. / Leader of the first expedition / to see and chart the Antarctic / Mainland on the 30th of / January 1820’ // Rear: ‘The brig Williams’ //
Plinth: KEOHANE / FORDE / CROZIER / MCCARTHY BROS / SHACKLETON / CREAN
Details
Description: A rounded limestone menhir in the shape of a marker beacon with a carved and painted dedication to Bransfield. At the foot of the stone is a relief carved and painted penguin. On the rear is a relief carving of the brig ‘Williams’ in full sail. The monument stands on a circular plinth, with a relief map of Antarctica with the names other Irish polar explorers around the circumference.
Type: Memorial stone
Position: Old harbour, Ballinacurra
Materials: Ballinacurra limestone
Date Erected: January 2020
Artists: Matthew Thompson
Vessel: HMS Andromache, MV Williams
Type: Memorial stone
Position: Old harbour, Ballinacurra
Materials: Ballinacurra limestone
Date Erected: January 2020
Artists: Matthew Thompson
Vessel: HMS Andromache, MV Williams
Event
Discovery of Antarctica
Event Date
January 1820
People
Bransfield, Edward
Age: 67
Date of Death: 31/09/1852
Cause of Death: Unknown
Rank / Occupation: Master & Pilot
Organisation: Royal Navy
Age: 67
Date of Death: 31/09/1852
Cause of Death: Unknown
Rank / Occupation: Master & Pilot
Organisation: Royal Navy
Extra
Notes: Edward Bransfield, an Irish officer in the British Royal Navy. He had been impressed into the Royal Navy in 1803, at the age of 18. Bransfield became a skilled navigator. In January 1820, as an officer on the brig, MV Williams, sailing from Valparaiso, Chile, he sighted the Trinity Peninsula in Antarctica. Bransfield died on 31 October 1852 was buried in Brighton, England.
The monument commemorates the 200th anniversary of Bransfield’s discovery of the continent of Antarctica. The Edward Bransfield Committee campaigned and fundraised for the monument.
The monument commemorates the 200th anniversary of Bransfield’s discovery of the continent of Antarctica. The Edward Bransfield Committee campaigned and fundraised for the monument.